Epstein's Death Is Ruled Suicide

2 more women have filed suit against the financier's estate
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 16, 2019 2:00 PM CDT
Updated Aug 16, 2019 4:56 PM CDT
Epstein Is Gone, but the Suits Keep Coming
This March 28, 2017, file photo shows Jeffrey Epstein.   (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)

Jeffrey Epstein's death has been confirmed a suicide by hanging, the AP reports, by the New York medical examiner's office. The autopsy was completed Sunday, per NBC, but the office said it was waiting on information from investigators before issuing its ruling. Barbara Sampson, the medical examiner, said a private pathologist hired by Epstein's lawyers observed the autopsy, per the Washington Post. Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, touching off outrage and disbelief over how such a high-profile inmate could have gone unwatched. The Bureau of Prisons had said before Friday that Epstein had apparently killed himself, but that didn't squelch conspiracy theories about his death. Epstein, who was charged with sexually abusing numerous underage girls over several years, had been placed on suicide watch after he was found on his cell floor on July 23 with bruising on his neck. But people familiar with operations at the jail say he was taken off the watch after about a week and put back in a high-security housing unit where he was less closely monitored.

On Thursday, two more women sued Epstein's estate, saying he sexually abused them. The suit was filed in a federal court in New York, per the AP. The women say they were working as hostesses at a popular Manhattan restaurant in 2004 when they were recruited to give Epstein massages. One was 18 at the time; the other was 20. The complaint says an unidentified female recruiter offered the hostesses hundreds of dollars to provide a massage to Epstein, saying he "liked young, pretty girls to massage him." The lawsuit says the recruiter promised no unwanted touching but that Epstein groped them anyway. One plaintiff now lives in Japan, the other in Baltimore. They seek $100 million in damages, citing depression, anxiety, anger, flashbacks, and nightmares. (Was this the un-IDed female recruiter named in the suit?)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X