A forensic pathologist has concluded that Jeffrey Epstein's death was more consistent with a struggle than suicide, after reviewing the complete medical examiner's file. Dr Michael Freeman, a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in London, will publish an independent report on the late financier's death, challenging the official suicide determination.
Pathologist questions suicide ruling
Dr Freeman told Metro that the suicide determination was 'problematic', pointing to evidence such as fingernail marks which allegedly showed Epstein tried to get the ligature off in a 'potential struggle' or assault. He said: 'There are lots of things that are not explained by a suicidal hanging, but are consistent with potentially a struggle. He had injuries that could not possibly have been caused by a ligature.'
The pathologist, who previously served as chair of forensic and legal medicine with the Royal College of Physicians, was given the complete medical examiner's file by Epstein's brother, Mark. He will release the full medical file, including portions not public, after his talk at a University College London law-faculty event next month.
Evidence of struggle
Epstein was found unresponsive in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial. A guard said they discovered him hanging with an orange-coloured strip of material around his neck in a near-seated position. The New York chief medical examiner's office ruled his death a suicide, a decision later backed by a review from the Department of Justice in 2023 and FBI findings.
Dr Freeman says he is the first person trained in forensic pathology to have reviewed all the evidence, including the entire autopsy files, since the suicide determination. He told Metro that Epstein's 'death was completely unique in the annals of suicidal hanging descriptions', adding: 'We had no picture of him suspended. There was no picture of him after he was taken down from the suspension.'
Injuries inconsistent with hanging
Dr Freeman believes the guard's description of the position where he found Epstein was 'credible', so he focused on whether all of Epstein's injuries could have been caused by the hanging scenario in which he was found. He has concluded there are 'some very notable inconsistencies and areas where there is not adequate explanation of what the medical examiner found.'
The expert said Epstein had a number of injuries aside from the ligature marks, including on his left shoulder and behind his neck. He added: 'He had injuries that could not possibly have been caused by a ligature, and he had facial injuries that were clearly not caused by resuscitation efforts. He had been dead for hours by the time they tried to resuscitate him.'
Dr Freeman, who worked with a team of researchers, said there was evidence that aligned 'potentially with a struggle, an assault.' He claimed: 'One of the things that I will point out during my lecture will be the presence of what appear to be fingernail marks above the ligature mark. That would be consistent with his own fingernail marks, trying to get the ligature off.'
Public release of autopsy files
Dr Freeman acknowledged that 'there'll be people who are going to disagree' with him, but he is releasing the autopsy files publicly to let the world judge for themselves. He explained: 'Medical examiners don't want to have their work looked at again. Meanwhile, that leaves everybody without recourse to go back and say, "Can we have a second look at this?" Science is what you can prove, what is replicable, what's reproducible. That is what I'm focused on. So the fact it is Jeffrey Epstein is actually more of a nuisance factor because there's so much interest in it.'
The New York Medical Examiner told Metro their 'office stands by the determination' of suicide after being asked about Dr Freeman's criticisms. Epstein's brother Mark previously told Metro the report will be 'game-changing', saying the independent group have been 'properly studying the autopsy results for months', comparing the evidence against autopsies of suicides and murders. The younger brother, who gave the panel Jeffrey's autopsy reports, added: 'They are not doing this on my behalf. I am not paying for this.'
