Details continue to surface regarding the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the million financier and convicted pedophile who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on Saturday, August 10. Epstein’s death has been reported as a suspected suicide. However, there are plenty of questions that remain regarding the circumstances of his death.
Epstein was a high-profile inmate and nearly three weeks ago was found unresponsive in his jail cell with marks on his neck. Following that incident, the accused child sex trafficker was placed on suicide watch.
So people were wondering: how could someone on 24/7 suicide watch commit suicide?
As it turns out, Epstein was removed from suicide watch prior to his death — which came 24 hours after court documents were unsealed that connected a number of politicians and wealthy elite to Epstein’s trafficking ring. In addition, the New York Times reports that prison guards did not follow standard protocol.
Per the report, guards were supposed to check on Epstein every 30 minutes. However, they did not do so on the night of his death. In addition his cellmate was recently transferred which left Epstein alone.
The disclosures about apparent failures in Mr. Epstein’s detention at the Metropolitan Correctional Center deepened questions about his apparent suicide and are very likely to be the focus of inquiries by the Justice Department and the F.B.I.
The law-enforcement official said that when the decision was made to remove Mr. Epstein from suicide watch, the jail informed the Justice Department that Mr. Epstein would have a cellmate and that a guard “would look into his cell” every 30 minutes. But that was apparently not done, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the death was still under investigation.
The death of Epstein has also led to the resurfacing of the longtime “Clinton Body Count” conspiracy theory that circulates on far-right websites and message boards. Investigations into his death have since been opened by the Department of Justice, according to Attorney General William Barr.
Jeffrey Epstein had been behind bars since his arrest on July 6. Authorities were waiting for Epstein to return to New Jersey from Paris and arrested him upon his arrival. The charges against Epstein claim that “dozens” of victims between 2002 to 2005 were are involved in the case which included Epstein allegedly paying minors for sex acts after grooming them. Some of the victims were as young as 14 years old.
Epstein was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. If he would have been convicted of the charges, Epstein would have faced up to 45 years in prison.
The 66-year-old financier was a registered sex offender in Florida.
