Multiple sheets, an electrical cord, prescription medication and a handwritten note were reportedly found in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York jail cell after the millionaire pedophile killed himself.
The new details about what was found in the disgraced financier’s cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan last August are part of a 60 Minutes investigation set to air on Sunday.
The circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death continue to raise questions about protocol at the federal prison, including how the high-profile inmate was allowed to have such items in his cell.
Multiple bed sheets – enough for several inmates – were found in Epstein’s cell despite a previous suicide attempt just a few weeks earlier.
There was also a pen, paper and a handwritten note discovered in his cell.
The new details about what was found in Jeffrey Epstein’s cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan last August are part of a 60 Minutes investigation set to air on Sunday
When his body was eventually discovered by prison guards, Epstein’s fellow inmates could be heard shouting ‘breathe, Epstein, breathe’ as officers tried to revive him, 60 Minutes reports.
The two prison guards who were responsible for checking in on Epstein the night he hanged himself have since been charged with falsifying records and conspiracy.
Tova Noel, 31, and Michael Thomas, 41, – who have pleaded not guilty – were allegedly shopping online for furniture and napping instead of checking on the millionaire pedophile in his jail cell just 15 feet away from them.
After they discovered Epstein dead, the officers allegedly told a supervisor they had ‘messed up’ and ‘didn’t do any checks’ in the hours before he killed himself, according to a criminal complaint.
Noel and Thomas, who were assigned to Epstein’s Special Housing Unit at the federal jail, are accused of failing to check on him every half-hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to claim they had.
The two guards were required to jointly conduct institutional counts at 4pm, 10pm, 12am, 3am and 5am of the prisoners in the unit. They were supposed to walk the six levels of the unit to count every inmate.
The circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death continue to raise questions about protocol at the federal prison, including how the high-profile inmate was allowed to have such items in his cell
The two prison guards – Tova Noel, 31, (right) and Michael Thomas, 41, (left) – who were responsible for checking in on Epstein the night he hanged himself have since been charged with falsifying records and conspiracy
In addition to that count, officers assigned to the unit Epstein was in were required to walk around every 30 minutes to ensure inmates are ‘alive and accounted for’, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed the pair did not conduct a single count despite them logging that they did.
The charges brought against the two officers were the first in connection with Epstein’s death while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls.
Epstein had been on suicide watch after he was found July 23 on his cell floor with bruises on his neck. He was taken off suicide watch about a week before his death, which meant he was less closely monitored but still supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes.
The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide but that didn’t stop the conspiracy theories from swirling.
Both Epstein’s brother and the lawyers who represented him in his criminal case have expressed doubts about the medical examiner’s conclusion.
His autopsy report found his neck had been broken in several places, including the hyoid bone located near the Adam’s apple.
Forensic experts said that breakages to that specific bone could occur when people hanged themselves but were more commonly seen in victims who had been strangled.
Epstein’s death ended the possibility of a trial that would have involved prominent figures and it sparked widespread anger that he wouldn’t have to answer for the allegations.
He had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s.
Epstein had once counted the rich and powerful, including U.S. President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, among his associates.