The Jeffrey Epstein saga continues, with two prison guards who were on duty the night that he was found dead inside of his jail cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center receiving indictments, according to TMZ. The guards — Tova Noel and Michael Thomas — are facing jail time for falsifying jail records.
“The feds claim Noel and Thomas were 2 of the guards on duty on August 10 from 12 AM to 8 AM, and during their watch, they were supposed to conduct 5 scheduled checks on Epstein,” the TMZ report reads.
“The feds claim for a period of approximately 2 hours, the guards were sitting at their desks “without moving, and appeared to have been asleep.”
Thomas received three counts of falsifying records, while Noel was charged with five counts. Each count carries a max sentence of five years in prison. The charges also add to the growing list of confusion and questionable moments leading up to the death of the convicted pedophile.
Epstein was found dead at 6:33 a.m. ET with a rope around his neck. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but conflicting theories suggest he had neck fractures more common in victims of homicide by strangulation than suicide.
Just 24 hours prior to the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile being found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, court documents were unsealed that named a bunch of powerful and wealthy men including a prince and multiple politicians. There is also the fact that prison guards did not check on Epstein every 30 minutes on the night of his death despite that being a requirement.
Epstein had also recently been taken off of suicide watch, while his cellmate was transferred in the days prior to his death.
While we wait for answers, Attorney General William Barr has stated that multiple investigations have been launched as the Department of Justice attempts to get to the bottom of how Epstein passed away.