The autopsy of accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein revealed multiple broken neck bones, including his hyoid bone, findings that may be more consistent with strangulation than suicide by hanging, according to new a report released late Wednesday evening.
The Washington Post article cited two people familiar with the findings of New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, which is investigating the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death in his Metropolitan Correctional Center prison cell early Saturday morning.
Studies show a broken hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s Apple, is more common during homicidal strangulation than hanging. Nevertheless, research on the frequency of the hyoid bone breaking during a hanging varies greatly, from it being rare to fairly frequent. And it is generally agreed the chances of a broken hyoid bone during suicide by hanging increases with age as the three jointed bones making up the hyoid harden and become more breakable. Epstein was 66 when he died.
Dr. Barbara Sampson, New York City’s chief medical examiner, released a statement Sunday evening saying a final determination is “pending further information at this time.” On Saturday morning, a representative for the medical examiner’s office had stressed that “there is no official cause of death yet” because “the medical examiner has to do their job.” Epstein’s body was reportedly claimed from the examiner’s office by representatives for the now-deceased jet-setting financier on Wednesday.
Neither the Justice Department nor the medical examiner’s office immediately responded to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
The Washington Post also cited anonymous sources stating Sampson’s office is looking for more information about the hours leading up to Epstein’s death, including checking out video evidence of the prison hallways, figuring out whether anyone came near or entered Epstein’s cell, hearing what the on-duty guards have to say, and reviewing the toxicology report to determine what, if anything, was in Epstein’s system around the time he died.
Many questions remain about why Epstein was reportedly taken off suicide watch despite allegedly being found nearly unconscious on his cell floor with marks on his neck back on July 23, as well as about why such a high-profile prisoner wasn’t being closely monitored. There are reports that prison guards may have falsified the records showing that they were checking in on Epstein in the hours leading up to his death.
The Bureau of Prisons said on Saturday that Epstein was found “unresponsive in his cell” in the special housing unit that morning following “an apparent suicide.” Attorney General William Barr also said Epstein died by “apparent suicide,” and he ordered the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate both the incident in July and Saturday’s death.
The DOJ said earlier Tuesday that the warden for the prison had been “temporarily reassigned” to a northeast regional office “pending the outcome” of investigations currently underway. Two other prison staffers were placed on administrative leave. Barr said Monday that he was “learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.”
Epstein, the already convicted sex offender and jet-setting financier, was alleged by prosecutors to have sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girl at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations, between 2002 and 2005, and perhaps beyond. Prosecutors claimed Epstein enticed and recruited minor girls to engage in sex acts with him and built a “vast network of underage victims.”
