New York City’s medical examiner stood by her conclusion that sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died via a suicide by hanging amid scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the financier’s death in his prison cell last summer.
When asked to respond to Sunday’s 60 Minutes exposé, which included comments from a celebrity forensic pathologist doubtful of the official conclusions and newly released pictures of Epstein’s bruised neck and from inside his cell after his death, a representative for chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson declined to provide new details.
“We can’t answer more specific questions around this ongoing investigation at this time, but we refer you to our previous statements,” the medical examiner’s office told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
When asked if this meant Sampson was standing by her findings that Epstein killed himself, the representative replied: “Yes, that is fair.”
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in NYC’s Metropolitan Correctional Center early on Aug. 10.
Dr. Michael Baden, who briefly held the same role as Sampson in the late 1970s and went on to become a controversial celebrity medical examiner, was hired by Epstein’s younger brother, Mark Epstein, to conduct an investigation.
Baden observed the four-hour autopsy by Sampson’s office and said he believed the current evidence made it more likely Epstein was a victim of a homicidal strangulation rather than suicide, pointing to the injuries to Epstein’s neck.
“There were fractures of the left, the right thyroid cartilage, and the left hyoid bone — I have never seen three fractures like this in a suicidal hanging,” Baden said. “Going over a thousand jail hangings, suicides in the New York City state prisons over the past 40 to 50 years, no one had three fractures.”
Baden said he understood if people thought he was biased due to being paid by Epstein’s brother but claimed “our job is to find what the truth is … just to find out whether it’s a homicide or a suicide,” and added, “I hesitate, as usual, to make a final opinion until all the evidence is in.”
But the NYC medical examiner’s office has stood “firmly” by its findings.
“Our investigation concluded that the cause of Mr. Epstein’s death was hanging and the manner of death was suicide, and we stand by that determination,” Sampson said in October when Baden’s claims were first made public. “We continue to share information around the medical investigation with Mr. Epstein’s family, their representatives, and their pathology consultant. The original medical investigation was thorough and complete. There is no reason for a second medical investigation by our office.”
“In general, fractures of the hyoid bone and the cartilage can be seen in suicides and homicides,” Sampson told the New York Times.
“In forensics, it’s a general principle that all information from all aspects of an investigation must be considered together,” Sampson told the Associated Press. “You can’t draw a conclusion from one finding. Everything about the case has to be considered.”
Epstein allegedly sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, 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.”
The Justice Department charged two prison guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, with dereliction of duty and falsifying records while covering up their failure to conduct their rounds and wellness checks the night Epstein died. Both pleaded not guilty, and the ongoing criminal case has been cited by the DOJ and the Bureau of Prisons to justify their relative silence about Epstein’s death. Attorney General William Barr said he personally reviewed security footage showing no one else entered Epstein’s cell the night he died.
The jet-setting financier’s friendships with people such as former President Bill Clinton, the U.K.’s Prince Andrew, and others have come under increased scrutiny following his death, while Epstein’s victims continue fighting for accountability.
