Jeffrey Epstein's alleged suicide note released by federal judge
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, US News, Mental Health, New York
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, US News, Mental Health, New York
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A judge has made the decision to unseal an apparent suicide note penned by Jeffrey Epstein that was discovered by his cellmate.
The note, which was made public on Wednesday (May 6), had been sealed and locked in a courthouse vault for nearly five years as part of an unrelated legal dispute.
Epstein died by suicide on August 10, 2019, at the age of 66. He had been awaiting federal sex trafficking charges at the time.
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He had unsuccessfully tried to take his own life two weeks prior to his death and his cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, alleged at he had discovered a suicide note in their shared cell.
According to a report from the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General, Epstein was discovered with 'an orange cloth around his neck' and had 'friction marks' on his neck, NBC News says.
Tartaglione is said to have confirmed that Epstein had tried to hang himself and had found the apparent suicide note.
Written on lined paper, the note read: "They investigated me for month — Found NOTHING!!!"
The rest of it is more difficult to read, but it appears to say: "So 16 year old charges resubmitted.
"It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do - Bust out cryin!! NO FUN, NOT WORTH IT!!"
The message did not have a signature on it and it has not been officially verified whether Epstein actually penned it or not.
US district judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, ordered the note’s release after The New York Times petitioned last week to unseal it and other documents in a case involving the cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione.
Few people had known about the note until Tartaglione, a former police officer who is serving a life sentence for killing four people, mentioned it on a podcast last year.
When the note came into Tartaglione's possession, he handed it to his legal team as a possible defense against future assault allegations from Epstein.
When he was discovered with red marks on his neck following his unsuccessful suicide attempt, Epstein had alleged that he'd been attacked by Tartaglione – which his cellmate always denied.
The lawyers then brought in 'handwriting experts' to authenticate the note’s author, The New York Times reports.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.