Conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s death are getting more intense after an autopsy finds that the convicted pedophile suffered multiple broken neck bones, injuries that are more commonly found in homicide by strangulation than suicide.
Last Saturday, billionaire financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. Epstein, who was being held after his July arrest for sex trafficking charges, was reported to have committed suicide by tying a bedsheet to the top of a bunk bed and around his neck. Epstein, who was 6 feet tall, “apparently killed himself by kneeling toward the floor and strangling himself with the makeshift noose, law enforcement sources said.
On July 23, Epstein was found semiconscious at 1:30 AM on the floor of his cell with marks around his neck that were suspected to be from a suicide attempt or an assault.
Epstein’s cellmate at the time of his suicide attempt was former New York City police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, who is charged with four counts of murder. Tartaglione said he has no knowledge of how Epstein nearly died.
“The convicted pedophile also told his lawyers that the neck trauma he suffered in an earlier incident at the Metropolitan Correctional Center were inflicted by his hulking, ex-cop cellmate, which led the lawyers to request that he be taken off a suicide watch, according to a source familiar with Epstein’s case,” according to the New York Post.
Jeffrey Epstein "told his lawyers that neck injuries he suffered in earlier suicide attempt at Metropolitan Correctional Center were inflicted by his hulking, ex-cop cellmate."-NYP. Nicholas Tartaglione charged with 4 counts of murder, he had a cell phone confiscated on July 3. pic.twitter.com/FOaq6GiUIp
— Paul Sacca (@Paul_Sacca) August 15, 2019
“In addition, the jail had transferred his cellmate and allowed Mr. Epstein to be housed alone in a cell just two weeks after he had been taken off suicide watch, a decision that also violated the jail’s normal procedure, two officials said,” the New York Times reported.
The incident was treated as a suicide attempt and Epstein was put on suicide watch, but he was taken off suicide watch on July 29. Epstein was downgraded to “special observation status,” which required two guards to make separate checks on him every 30 minutes. On the day of his death, Epstein had not been checked on for several hours.
The two guards who were supposed to be monitoring the convicted pedophile allegedly fell asleep for three hours on the night Epstein died. Then the guards reportedly falsified prison records to cover up their actions, only fueling more Epstein conspiracy theories. There are reports that say the two correctional officers were both on overtime, one man on his fifth straight day of extra hours and the other forced to work overtime that day.
There was another report that one of Epstein’s guards was not a regular MCC correctional officer, which sparked suspicions. “One of Jeffrey Epstein’s guards that night he hanged himself in his federal jail cell wasn’t a regular correctional officer, according to a person familiar with the detention center,” according to the report.
Camera footage from the MCC prison has yet to become available, and there are unfounded reports saying that Epstein’s prison cell was not in view of security cameras and another unproven report saying the “cameras malfunctioned,” which prompted more conspiracy theories.
Jeffrey Epstein’s death became even more suspicious as a new report by the Washington Post proclaimed that he experienced multiple broken neck bones according to the autopsy.
The office of New York City’s chief medical examiner completed an autopsy of Epstein’s body on Sunday, but did not reveal the cause of death. “Today, a medical examiner performed the autopsy of Jeffrey Epstein,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson in a statement Sunday night.
“The ME’s determination is pending further information at this time. At the request of those representing the decedent, and with the awareness of the federal prosecutor, I allowed a private pathologist (Dr. Michael Baden) to observe the autopsy examination. This is routine practice.”
“People familiar with the autopsy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive stage of the investigation, said Sampson’s office is seeking additional information on Epstein’s condition in the hours before his death,” The Washington Post wrote. “That could include video evidence of the jail hallways, which may establish whether anyone entered Epstein’s cell during the night he died; results of a toxicology screening to determine if there was any unusual substance in his body; and interviews with guards and inmates who were near his cell.”
In a study of suicidal hangings of young adults and middle-aged people in India between 2010 to 2013, hyoid damage was found in just 16 of 264 cases, or 6 percent.
Jonathan Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, noted that a broken hyoid bone is more common in strangulation than suicidal hangings. “If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging,” Arden told the Washington Post.
The belief that hyoid bones being damaged most by strangulation was also pointed out in a scientific article titled “Hyoid Bone Fracture: Associated With Head and Neck Trauma—A Rare Case Report.”
“Fractures of hyoid bone resulting from trauma other than strangulation are very rare,” said the authors. “Hyoid bone fracture associated with panfacial trauma are even rarer.”
“They occur more frequently in young individuals, and in men more than in women,” the report continued. “In general hyoid bone fractures are reported to occur in 50 percent of cases of manual strangulation or of ligature strangulation and in 27 percent of hanging.”
The New York Post reported that Epstein’s final words to his lawyers were: “I’ll see you Sunday.”