Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, on Monday discussed deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a new CBS “60 Minutes” report on his death, echoing his previous statements about the high profile case.
Baden, who was hired by Epstein’s family to investigate the death, said the injuries on the body “are more indicative of a homicidal strangulation than a suicidal strangulation.”
“What stood out to me the most was that the ligature mark was made after a few hours,” Baden told CBS. “He had been dead for a few hours at the time he was discovered. And that there were multiple fractures of the Adam’s apple, the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone that are more indicative of a homicidal strangulation than a suicidal strangulation.”
Baden maintained he had never seen the same type of three-bone fracture in a suicide after reviewing a thousand suicide records in the New York State Prison System.
“This certainly suggests that it could be a homicide,” he stated.
“The marks on the neck [are] not at all typical of a hanging suicide,” Baden added. “A hanging suicide — 90% of the time there are no fractures. Maybe 10%, 15% there could be a hyoid or a thyroid fracture. You don’t have three fractures with the weight of the body on the ligature. You have to have a lot more pressure by ligature or hands to get those fractures.”
Baden also pushed back against the notion that his examination is being influenced by the fact he is being paid by the Epstein family, arguing the family just wants to know what happened.
“We have to call it the way we see it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I’m being paid by New York City or even by the family.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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