A new report claims Jeffrey Epstein tried to take his own life several times in jail, and that multiple nooses were found in his cell.
Jeffrey Epstein, a financier convicted of sex offenses, reportedly tried to end his life at least three times before his death in August 2019. According to a new investigation, several nooses were found in his cell after he died.
Nicholas Tartaglione, a former New York police officer and convicted murderer who briefly shared a cell with Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, told the New York Times that Epstein directly asked him how to make a noose just days before his first reported suicide attempt on July 22, 2019.
Epstein returned to his cell after a judge denied him bail. This was his thirteenth day in custody.
Tartaglione said that over the next few days, he saw Epstein preparing to take his own life on two occasions.
He recalled one incident where Epstein tied a sheet to a grate over the cell window. On another occasion, he woke up to find Epstein acting “a little suspicious” in the dark cell, and later found a noose under Epstein’s mattress, according to the Times.
Tartaglione said he reported both incidents to jail guards, but they did not take him seriously. Another inmate, Peter Bright, confirmed that Tartaglione told him about these attempts shortly after Epstein’s death.
On July 22, less than three weeks before Epstein was found dead, Tartaglione found him lying motionless on the cell floor with an orange fabric noose around his neck.
Epstein initially told corrections officers that his cellmate tried to harm him. However, an internal prison investigation cleared Tartaglione of any involvement.
When Epstein was found dead on the morning of August 10, his cell contained various linens he was not supposed to have, including several nooses and strips of orange fabric that could be used to make a noose.
