(AP)
Newly released Justice Department files reveal a federal statement announcing Jeffrey Epstein’s death dated a day before prison records show he was found unresponsive in his New York cell.The document, from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and dated Friday, August 9, 2019, states Epstein had already been found unresponsive and pronounced dead. Official accounts confirm a corrections officer discovered him shortly after 6.30 am on August 10, 2019, while delivering breakfast at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.In the statement, then-Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey S Berman said, “Earlier this morning, the Manhattan Correctional Center confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this Office of engaging in the sex trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.”Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in court.””To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment.”Epstein, 66, was arrested on July 6, 2019, on federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial, decades after a controversial Florida plea deal in 2008. Medical personnel attempted to revive him after he was found unresponsive, but the New York City medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide by hanging. No precise time of death was ever established.His death exposed serious failures at the secure facility. Guards missed required overnight checks at 3 am and 5 am, and surveillance cameras outside his cell malfunctioned, leaving critical gaps in monitoring. Newly released files also show that FBI and Justice Department inspector general investigators reviewed footage showing an unidentified orange-colored figure ascending a staircase near Epstein’s unit overnight. Investigators noted the movement but drew no public conclusions due to the limitations of the surveillance system.Epstein faced decades in prison if convicted for a years-long operation abusing underage girls across states and countries. His death ended the case against him but not federal probes into possible co-conspirators.
