Video from at least one security camera outside of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan prison cell, where the convicted pedophile was found dead as a result of hanging according to authorities, was reportedly unusable to investigators.
The camera with unusable footage was situated in the hallway near Epstein’s cell, according to the Washington Post. The newspaper said a second camera captured clearer footage. The reason for the filming discrepancies between the two cameras is unclear at this time.
Earlier this month, New York City’s chief medical examiner determined that Epstein died on August 10th from hanging himself. According to the New York Post, the millionaire investor was found with a bedsheet wrapped around his neck that was tied to his bunk bed. “The convicted pedophile, who was 6 feet tall, apparently killed himself by kneeling toward the floor and strangling himself with the makeshift noose,” said the Post.
The 66-year-old financier faced charges of sex trafficking minor girls and potentially could have named high-profile people who had sex with the girls. He was accused of abusing dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005.
Epstein previously was on suicide watch after he was found semiconscious in his cell with marks on his neck July 23rd. Former cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione was cleared of any wrongdoing for that incident. Epstein was removed from suicide watch after roughly a week.
Epstein’s attorneys Martin G. Weinberg, Reid Weingarten, and Michael Miller, said in a statement that they were “not satisfied with the conclusions of the medical examiner.”
“The defense team fully intends to conduct its own independent and complete investigation into the circumstances and cause of Mr. Epstein’s death including if necessary legal action to view the pivotal videos — if they exist as they should — of the area proximate to Mr. Epstein’s cell during the time period leading to his death,” they told CNBC.
“No one should die in jail,” the attorneys said. “And no one, not Mr. Epstein who was presumed innocent and had violated no prison disciplinary rule, and not anyone should be imprisoned under the harsh, even medieval conditions at the MCC where Mr. Epstein spent his final hours. His safety was the responsibility of the MCC. It is indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols.”
Attorney General William Barr said he was “appalled that Epstein died while in federal custody. He directed the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate “serious irregularities” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan.
“Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Barr said in a statement.
The Justice Department has reassigned the warden at that jail, Lamine N’Diaye, and two guards were put on administrative leave.
The UPI contributed to this report.