Latest Files Show Epstein Death Statement Dated a Day Early, Raising New Questions

​The latest Epstein files contain a draft statement attributed to federal prosecutors dated one day before Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell. The draft is one of at least 23 documents in the disclosure labeled as statements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

​One draft obtained by the Department of Justice (DOJ) is dated August 9, 2019, one day before Epstein was pronounced dead. “Earlier this morning, the Metropolitan Correctional Center confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this office of engaging in the trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter,” the draft statement reads.

​Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for the trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died before his trial date, and the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.

​Earlier, Epstein’s former jailmate and former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, stated in a pardon petition filed in the summer of 2024 and recently obtained by the Daily Beast that Epstein was purposefully left unprotected in federal custody.

​Tartaglione claimed that prison officials knowingly stationed Epstein in a jail cell with an accused mass murderer despite reports that Epstein had raised concerns about his safety a week before his death. However, authorities did not substantiate those claims.

​The Department of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General analyzed surveillance footage from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) New York Special Housing Unit for August 9, 2019, between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. The FBI observed an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward the locked tier where Epstein’s cell was located at 10.39 p.m.

​“A flash of orange appears to be going up the L Tier stairs and could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier,” the observation log states.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General’s observation reads, “A flash of orange can be seen going up the stairs of L (upper) tier. Inmates are currently on lockdown; it is possible someone is carrying inmate linen or bedding up the stairs.”

The observations raised further questions about what happened near Epstein's cell at the time of his death. In that context, a draft statement dated August 9 — one of several differently redacted versions attributed to federal prosecutors — deepened questions about what officials were preparing in the final hours before Epstein was found dead.

​Epstein cultivated a vast social circle of high-profile individuals, including businesspeople, royalty, politicians and academics. His associations with public figures, including Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Bill Clinton, Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway and others, have drawn scrutiny. Documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act showed Epstein maintained contact with numerous prominent individuals.