Jeffrey Epstein found ‘injured & semiconscious’ with suspicious marks on neck in jail cell
Published time: 25 Jul, 2019 04:11Edited time: 25 Jul, 2019 05:06
Millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found “injured and in a fetal position” in his New York jail cell with marks around his neck, leading to speculation that he’d been attacked or injured himself to get transferred.
While authorities have questioned another inmate over the situation – a former cop locked up for allegedly killing four men in a drug conspiracy – multiple sources have rushed to the media claiming Epstein tried to hang himself, while another source claims he staged the injury to get transferred to another facility. He is currently on suicide watch, according to two sources.
Former Westchester police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, who was charged with killing four men over a drug deal gone bad and burying them in his backyard, claims he never touched Epstein and didn’t see what happened, according to his lawyer. “They are in the same unit and doing well,” and have even found common ground in complaining about flooding, rodents, and bad food in the jail, he said.
Given the amount of blackmail information Epstein reportedly has on extremely powerful people, speculation that one of them might want to get him out of the picture has been simmering on social media since his arrest, only to erupt in the wake of this latest report. “Organized criminals have long arms,” one user tweeted. “If he dies, I’m going to have to ask, what wealthy individual(s) had him killed or did he really commit suicide?” another wondered. Others took issue with the theory, suggesting that if someone wanted Epstein dead, it would have happened already.
Following Epstein’s arrest on conspiracy and sex trafficking charges earlier this month, additional victims have reportedly come forward. The mysterious magnate all but skated on similar charges over a decade ago, pleading to a lesser charge of soliciting prostitution and serving just 13 months in a sweetheart deal that permitted him to leave prison during the day. Alexander Acosta, the prosecuting attorney on that case, resigned as Secretary of Labor two weeks ago over his handling of the deal, though he claimed in interviews with the Trump transition team he had been told to “back off” because Epstein “belonged to intelligence.”
Epstein faces 45 years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Epstein was denied bail last week after authorities learned he had a fake Saudi passport and wads of cash secreted in a safe inside his home. Judge Richard Berman also pointed to danger to the community and Epstein’s alleged history of intimidating witnesses in his decision to keep the financier in jail. Epstein’s lawyers have appealed, seeking to have him released on house arrest with electronic monitoring.