Jeffrey Epstein Autopsy Shows Broken Neck: Report

Jeffrey Epstein Autopsy Shows Broken Neck: Report
Jeffrey Epstein in a file photograph. New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
Reuters
Updated:

The autopsy into financier Jeffrey Epstein, who reportedly died in an apparent suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, found his neck had been broken in several places, the Washington Post reported late on Wednesday.

Such injuries can occur to people who hang themselves or who are strangled, the newspaper said. It cited unidentified sources familiar with the autopsy’s results.

Epstein, a multi-millionaire and convicted sexual offender, was found dead in his jail cell in New York City on Saturday. The circumstances of his death are under investigation.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center where financier Jeffrey Epstein was being held, in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019,(Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)
The Metropolitan Correctional Center where financier Jeffrey Epstein was being held, in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019,Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

The New York Medical Examiner’s office could not be reached for comment on the Post report early on Thursday and a representative did not immediately respond to Reuters by phone or text message.

It was unclear if the medical examiner has made a final determination into the cause of death, but NBC news cited an unnamed source as saying Epstein’s body had been claimed by an associate.

It was also unclear when the autopsy report would be finished or made public.

Epstein, 66, was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

A source told Reuters previously that he was found hanging by the neck.

Epstein pleaded not guilty in July to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005.

Attorney General William Barr has said the criminal investigation into any possible co-conspirators would continue.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr waits to speak at the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University School of Law on July 23, 2019 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.S. Attorney General William Barr waits to speak at the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University School of Law on July 23, 2019 in New York City. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Barr, whose agency oversees the Bureau of Prisons, has also demanded an investigation into Epstein’s death and ordered the removal of the prison’s warden.

The disgraced financier had been on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan but was then put back in a regular cell.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, New York, on July 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, New York, on July 1, 2019. AP Photo/Richard Drew
The Metropolitan Correctional Facility, where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, is seen on August 10, 2019 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
The Metropolitan Correctional Facility, where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, is seen on August 10, 2019 in New York City. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Multiple news reports have said guards did not follow procedures to check on Epstein frequently and that he was left alone in his cell for as long as three hours.

Separately, a team at the jail on Wednesday began an “after-action” review, which is normally triggered by significant events such as a prominent inmate’s death, a person familiar with the matter said. That review is being headed by a prison bureau director from another region.

By Rich McKay