Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex trafficker, told a jail psychologist two weeks before his death that he was too much of 'a coward' to ever take his own life, according to newly released documents. The records, obtained by the New York Times under freedom of information laws, detail the final 36 days of Epstein's life at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where he was found dead in August 2019 in a death ruled a suicide.
The documents, spanning more than 2,000 pages, reveal that Epstein claimed to have 'no interest in killing myself' and described his life as 'wonderful' despite his incarceration. He also stated he could not stand pain, contradicting his eventual suicide by hanging. The records show Epstein attempted suicide one month before his death, but he consistently denied any suicidal intent to staff.
The New York Times investigation paints Epstein as a master manipulator who 'created illusions until the very end, deceiving correctional officers, counselors and specially trained inmates assigned to monitor him around the clock.' Despite being considered a suicide risk, Epstein managed to kill himself after staff allowed him to remain alone in his cell on the night of his death, violating an explicit order to assign a cellmate. He had told warders he wanted to call his mother, who was long dead, and instead called his girlfriend.
The documents also detail Epstein's day-to-day routines, including lengthy meetings with lawyers in the jail's conference center, which allowed him to avoid his 'dank and dirty' cell. He complained about a noisy toilet, disliked wearing his orange jumpsuit, and suffered from insomnia and numbness in his right arm. Despite these issues, he spoke openly with psychologists and inmates about his interest in physics and mathematics, offered investment advice, and reminisced about socialising with celebrities, though prison notes do not name any famous associates.
Conspiracy theories that Epstein was killed have persisted since his death, but FBI and Justice Department investigations have not reached a conclusion. The records suggest that complacency among jail and federal officials, who were convinced by Epstein's assurances that he had plenty to live for, allowed the suicide to occur.
