Financier Jeffrey Epstein, held on federal sex trafficking charges, is found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. The medical examiner rules it a suicide.
Contested history
Consensus: New York City's medical examiner ruled suicide by hanging; a 2023 Justice Department inspector general report found serious negligence by jail staff and no evidence contradicting that finding.
Suicide enabled by jail failuresEstablished
The inspector general found guards skipped required checks and falsified records, he was left without a cellmate, and cameras were not fully working.
HomicideMinority view
A pathologist hired by his brother said neck fractures suggested strangulation; the medical examiner said such fractures also occur in hangings.
A suppressed client listUnsupported
A July 2025 Justice Department and FBI review said it found no incriminating client list and no basis to charge uncharged third parties.