Federal prosecutors on Monday sided with The New York Occasions, which petitioned a choose in White Plains, New York, to unseal a purported suicide observe by Jeffrey Epstein.
The observe is sealed as a part of felony proceedings involving Epstein’s one-time cellmate, convicted quadruple assassin Nicholas Tartaglione, who instructed the paper he found the observe tucked inside a e book after Epstein’s unsuccessful suicide try in July 2019.
The Occasions requested the courtroom to unseal the observe, arguing that as a result of Tartaglione talked about it, there’s nothing left to maintain secret.
Federal prosecutors agreed, writing to the choose that there was now not a compelling curiosity in retaining the merchandise sealed.
“If Tartaglione has publicly mentioned issues occurring within the Curcio proceedings, then his public statements represent a waiver of the necessity for continued sealing as to the issues he has publicly disclosed,” U.S. Legal professional Jay Clayton wrote in a letter Monday.
It can now be as much as Choose Kenneth Karas to determine whether or not to permit the general public to see one other piece of long-concealed proof associated to the late intercourse offender, who hanged himself in jail in August 2019, earlier than prosecutors may put him on trial for intercourse trafficking minors.
Epstein was present in his cell on July 23, 2019, “with a home made noose normal round his neck,” in line with a Bureau of Prisons incident report.
Undated footage of Jeffrey Epstein offered by the US Division of Justice, January 30, 2026.
Martin Bureau/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Epstein was “mendacity within the fetal place on the ground of his cell carrying a t-shirt and boxers. He was respiration closely and was loud night breathing. … His neck was purple with no abrasions,” the report mentioned. Epstein was “decided to have sustained a round line of erythema on the base of the neck and friction marks on the entrance of neck.”
In accordance with the report, at first Epstein alleged that his cellmate, Tartaglione, had tried to kill him — an allegation he didn’t repeat. He later mentioned he couldn’t recall what occurred. Tartaglione has denied making an attempt to hurt Epstein.
Tartaglione first talked about the existence of the purported suicide observe in a podcast final 12 months.
“It mentioned one thing like ‘FBI, you already know, seemed into me for months and located nothing.’ Then he wrote, ‘What would you like me to do? Cry about it?’ And he was bizarre as a result of he wrote a smiley face, after which he wrote ‘time to say goodbye,'” Tartaglione mentioned on the podcast.
Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York didn’t know of any suicide observe written by Epstein, sources conversant in the matter beforehand instructed ABC Information, however a two-page chart contained within the Justice Division’s Epstein recordsdata referenced it.
“Someday between 7/23 and seven/27, NT discovered the observe,” the chart mentioned, referencing Nicholas Tartaglione by his initials.
The chart mentioned Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, authenticated the observe in January 2020 however didn’t say how.
Barket beforehand declined to touch upon the matter to ABC Information as a result of the observe is sealed.
Epstein, a rich financier who owned two personal islands within the Virgin Islands, got here beneath investigation for allegedly luring minor ladies to his seaside residence in Palm Seaside, Florida, for massages that turned sexual. He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for intercourse crimes expenses after reaching a controversial non-prosecution settlement in 2007 with the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Miami.
In 2019, Epstein was indicted on expenses that he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor ladies at his properties in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Seaside, Florida, amongst different places,” and used money funds to recruit a “huge community of underage victims,” a few of whom had been as younger as 14 years outdated.
Epstein died in jail whereas awaiting trial on August 10, 2019. His demise was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York Medical Examiner’s Workplace, and the Justice Division concurred with that discovering.
Tartaglione was convicted in 2023 and sentenced in 2024 to 4 consecutive phrases of life imprisonment. His enchantment is presently pending earlier than the 2nd U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals.
When you or somebody you already know is combating ideas of suicide — free, confidential assist is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days every week. Name or textual content the nationwide lifeline at 988.
