Epstein’s Final Days: Celebrity Reminiscing and a Running Toilet
Newly released records show the disgraced financier living a mundane existence in jail before his suicide, while also spinning deceptions until the very end.
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The disgraced financier, jailed in Manhattan on federal sex trafficking charges involving teenage girls, was found unconscious on the floor of his cell one morning in July 2019, a strip of bedsheet tied around his bruised neck.
In the hours and days that followed that suicide attempt, Jeffrey Epstein would claim to be living a “wonderful life,” denying any thoughts of ending it, even as he sat on suicide watch and faced daunting legal troubles.
“I have no interest in killing myself,” Mr. Epstein told a jailhouse psychologist, according to Bureau of Prisons documents that have not previously been made public. He was a “coward” and did not like pain, he explained. “I would not do that to myself.”
But two weeks later, he did just that: He died in his cell on Aug. 10 in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, having hanged himself with a bedsheet, the medical examiner ruled.
After a life of manipulation, Mr. Epstein created illusions until the very end, deceiving correctional officers, counselors and specially trained inmates assigned to monitor him around the clock, according to the documents — among more than 2,000 pages of Federal Bureau of Prisons records obtained by The New York Times after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The detailed notes and reports compiled by those who interacted with Mr. Epstein during his 36 days of detention show how he repeatedly assured them he had much to live for, while also hinting that he was increasingly despondent. The clues prompted too little action by jail and bureau officials, who made mistake after mistake leading up to Mr. Epstein’s death, the records reveal.
Inmate Epstein was also upset about wearing an orange jumpsuit and being treated like "a bad guy" when he did not do anything wrong in the prison. Custody and security concerns were addressed with inmate Epstein including why he has to wear his orange jumpsuit (due to his being housed in SHU).
While imprisoned, Mr. Epstein met with psychologists to discuss his mind-set.
Clinical Intervention Report
Jeffrey Epstein, in His Own Words
Jeffrey Epstein, in His Own Words
Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 suicide left many unanswered questions about his life in jail. We obtained more than 2,000 pages of prison records, which contained vivid details about Epstein’s last days — including his own words.
Here is some of what he said →
In the weeks before his death, he made statements that he was “a coward” and was having difficulty adapting to his diminished circumstances. He also frequently referenced poor sleep and an inability to tolerate the noise of prison.
After Mr. Epstein’s 2019 suicide, Bureau of Prisons officials completed a 15-page report exploring his incarceration and death.
Psychological Reconstruction of Inmate Jeffrey Epstein
He responded in the negative — effectively refuting my theory that Epstein couldn't take the animals in the SHU and chose to end it as a result. I no longer believe that rooming with Jeffrey would have saved him.
Two months after Mr. Epstein’s suicide, an unnamed inmate shared new information about his death in an email.
A Fellow Inmate
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