New York City’s chief medical examiner stands by the conclusion that deceased child sex trafficker and jet-setting financier Jeffrey Epstein died of suicide by hanging in his prison cell this summer.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson rejected claims by forensic specialist Dr. Michael Baden that homicide was the more likely cause of death.
“Our investigation concluded that the cause of Mr. Epstein’s death was hanging and the manner of death was suicide. We stand by that determination,” Sampson told the Washington Examiner. “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.”
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of Aug. 10.
Baden, who held the same role as Sampson in the late 1970s and went on to become a celebrity medical examiner and host of “Autopsy” on HBO, was hired by Jeffrey Epstein’s younger brother, Mark Epstein, to conduct his own investigation.
Baden claimed on Wednesday morning that he did not believe Epstein died by suicide and the evidence pointed to homicide.
Epstein’s neck bone injuries were “extremely unusual in suicidal hangings and could occur much more commonly in homicidal strangulation,” he said. “I’ve not seen in fifty years where that occurred in a suicidal hanging.”
Epstein, the already convicted sex offender and financier, allegedly sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girl 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.” Epstein’s high-profile friendships with people like former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and others have come under increased scrutiny following his death, and Epstein’s victims have continued to fight for accountability.
In August, the medical examiner’s office announced it had reviewed the investigation and conducted an autopsy to determine Epstein was hanged and died by suicide. The medical examiner’s office said Epstein appeared to have tied a bedsheet to the top of a bunk bed and then moved toward the floor with enough force to break bones in his neck, according to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, although the autopsy report has not been made public.
Attorney General William Barr said in August that he believes Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell.
“I have seen nothing that undercuts the finding of the medical examiner that this was a suicide,” Barr told reporters.
Barr also said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s apparent suicide and revealed the DOJ was “learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.” Barr also said there will be accountability for those who did not do their jobs properly, and he ordered the FBI and Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate both an apparent suicide attempt in July and Epstein’s August 10 death.
Barr said in August that his investigation into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death was moving “expeditiously” and that he expected to report his findings quickly to both Congress and the public, but no further information has been publicly released.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions from the Washington Examiner about whether it still believed Epstein died by suicide and about when the results of DOJ’s own investigations on Epstein’s death might be made available.
