A US federal judge on Wednesday unsealed a note purportedly written by disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, nearly seven years after it was first discovered following an apparent suicide attempt in jail.
The unverified and undated note surfaced in court records linked to Epstein’s former cellmate, who claimed he found the document after reviving Epstein in July 2019 – weeks before Epstein was later found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
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What did the note say?
The note reads, “They investigated me for month – found NOTHING!!! “So 16-year-old charge results!”
“It is a treat to be able to chose ones time to say goodbye.”
“Watcha want me to do – bust out crying!! NO FUN, not worth it!!”
The cellmate said the note was from Epstein’s unsuccessful suicide attempt in July 2019, weeks before he was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A medical examiner ruled that he died by suicide.
The court’s release of the record on Wednesday comes after the Justice Department said it had released millions of documents in its possession related to Epstein.
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Purported suicide note first reported by NYT
The existence of the purported suicide note was first reported by The New York Times, which revealed last week that the document had remained hidden from public view for nearly seven years.
The newspaper had petitioned District Judge Kenneth Karas to unseal the note and other records tied to the criminal case involving Epstein’s former cellmate. The US Justice Department did not oppose the request.
“There appears to be a strong public interest in the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death as described in the unsealing motion. That said, because the Government has no knowledge as to … the accuracy of the factual narrative described in the unsealing motion, the Government defers to the court,” the department wrote to Karas on Monday, indicating that it could not verify the authenticity of the purported note.
The note was reportedly discovered in July 2019 by Epstein’s cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, who claimed he ‘revived Epstein’ after the initial suicide attempt.
“Jeffrey Epstein tried killing himself when he was in the cell with me. I woke up, I brought him back with CPR. And to prove this point, Jeffrey Epstein wrote a suicide note,” Tartaglione said, according to a CNN report.
The note “was in my book, yeah, when I got back into the cell, I opened my book to read, and there it was. And he wrote it and stuck it in the book,” he added.
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Epstein’s murder allegations
Epstein initially accused Tartaglione of trying to kill him, but later withdrew the allegation. In the days that followed, he reportedly told a prison psychologist that Tartaglione had not threatened him and that he had no memory of the incident, according to a document labeled “Post Suicide Watch Report”, the CNN report added.
A report from the incident included in the newly released files stated that Epstein was found “lying in the fetal position on the floor with a homemade fashioned noose around his neck.”
Epstein stated, “I have no interest in killing myself” on July 24, the day after the reported suicide attempt, according to the psychologist’s report.
He repeated that assertion during another examination the following day. “I am too vested in my case to fight it, I have a life and I want to go back to living my life,” he reportedly told the psychologist.
Epstein was subsequently placed on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
He later died in the same jail, a death that has continued to fuel conspiracy theories questioning the official ruling that he died by suicide.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.
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