Epstein Death Files Reveal Prison Guards Used Decoy Body to Mislead Media
Newly unsealed files have made startling allegations that jail guards overseeing Jeffrey Epstein employed a decoy body to mislead reporters gathered outside the prison following his death, while his actual corpse was secretly removed in a separate vehicle. According to interview records contained within the documents, staff at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center orchestrated this ruse amid an intense media presence after the paedophile financier's apparent suicide in August 2019.
The Elaborate Deception Plan
The files allege that boxes and sheets were meticulously arranged to resemble a human body and loaded into a white van marked as belonging to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. This prompted reporters to follow the van as it drove away, creating a significant distraction. Unbeknownst to the media, Epstein's real body was instead placed into a black vehicle that departed the facility unnoticed, allowing officers to transport the corpse privately without public scrutiny.
This alleged deception was reportedly carried out after an official warned guards about the large number of journalists congregated outside the jail. The official stated he would arrive at the loading dock with a separate black vehicle specifically to remove the body, setting the stage for the covert operation. The records, included in a tranche of three million newly released documents, describe in detail how officers responded to the heavy media presence in the hours after Epstein's death.
Post-Death Procedures and Security Lapses
After Epstein was pronounced dead at New York Downtown Hospital, his body was returned to federal custody at the prison while arrangements were made for its transfer to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. One interview note explicitly states that due to the large news media presence, staff devised a plan to thwart reporters during the body's removal. According to the document, officers used boxes and sheets to create what appeared to be a human body, which was placed into the white OCME vehicle that the press followed, enabling the black vehicle to depart unnoticed with Epstein's body.
Other sections of the records describe how officers were stationed at a secure facility linked to the prison, where Epstein's body was guarded while fingerprinting and other procedural tasks were carried out ahead of its final transfer. Epstein was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on sex trafficking charges at the time of his death on August 10, 2019. He was found unresponsive in his cell early that morning by prison guards, who attempted CPR before rushing him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Investigative Findings and Handwritten Note
The New York City medical examiner ruled Epstein's death a suicide by hanging, a conclusion that has faced repeated questioning due to a series of failures inside the jail. These failures included guards falling asleep on duty and malfunctioning surveillance cameras, issues that later became the focus of multiple investigations. Prison records indicate that guards assigned to monitor Epstein did not conduct required checks during the overnight hours before his body was discovered, with scheduled rounds at 3am and 5am being missed according to official findings.
Furthermore, cameras positioned outside Epstein's cell were not functioning properly that night. Investigators later confirmed that at least two surveillance cameras had malfunctioned, leaving critical gaps in visual monitoring of the area. Because of these failures, officials were unable to establish a definitive timeline of Epstein's final moments, adding to the mystery and controversy surrounding his death.
The records also reveal that investigators highlighted a handwritten note found inside Epstein's cell at the time of his death, which was not treated as a suicide note by the medical examiner. The note, described as difficult to read, appeared to list grievances about jail conditions, including complaints about food, showers, and bugs. This detail adds another layer to the ongoing scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding Epstein's demise and the handling of his case by prison authorities.
