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Epstein's Death Was Suicide, Medical Examiner Says

Reuters

   NEW YORK - An autopsy has determined thatfinancier Jeffrey Epstein, who
   was found dead in jail whileawaiting trial on sex trafficking charges,
   died of suicide byhanging, New York's Office of Chief Medical Examiner
   saidFriday.

   Epstein, 66, was found dead Saturday in his cell at theMetropolitan
   Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan,triggering investigations
   into the circumstances of his death.

   The well-connected money manager was arrested July 6 andpleaded not
   guilty to federal charges of sex traffickinginvolving dozens of
   underage girls as young as 14.

   "We are sending the determination out very shortly. It issuicide by
   hanging," Office of Chief Medical Examinerspokeswoman Aja Worthy-Davis
   told Reuters.

   The autopsy showed that Epstein's neck had been broken inseveral
   places, two law enforcement sources said Thursday.

   The federal Bureau of Prisons, which runs the MCC, has saidthere had
   not been an inmate suicide there since 2006.

   Epstein had been on suicide watch at the jail but was takenoff prior to
   his death, a source who was not authorized to speakon the matter said
   previously. At the MCC, two jail guards arerequired to make separate
   checks on all prisoners every 30minutes, but that procedure was not
   followed, the source added.

   Separately, a team at the jail on Wednesday began an "afteraction"
   review, which is normally triggered by significantevents such as a
   prominent inmate's death, a person familiarwith the matter said.

   U.S. Attorney General William Barr ordered the removal ofthe warden at
   the jail, the Justice Department said Tuesday.Barr had criticized
   "serious irregularities" at the facility.

   Two corrections officers assigned to Epstein's unit also wereplaced on
   administrative leave pending the outcome ofinvestigations.

   Epstein, a registered sex offender who once countedPresident Donald
   Trump and former President Bill Clinton asfriends, pleaded guilty in
   2008 to Florida state charges ofunlawfully paying a teenage girl for
   sex.

   Two women who said they were recruited 15 years ago toprovide massages
   to Epstein, only to be later sexually molestedby him at his Manhattan
   mansion, filed a $100 million lawsuitagainst the financier's estate on
   Thursday night. The lawsuitwas at least the second filed against the
   estate since Epstein's death.

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