The United States Justice Department has released a document purported to be a suicide letter from Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of running a sexual abuse network. The release follows a request from The New York Times.
The letter was discovered in July 2019 by Epstein's then-cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, an ex-police officer serving a life sentence for homicide. Tartaglione found the note after Epstein was found unconscious in his cell with a cloth around his neck. At the time, Epstein claimed he was not suicidal and accused his cellmate of attacking him.
Epstein was subsequently transferred and found dead in his cell days later. The document was sealed by a federal judge and is part of the ongoing criminal case against Tartaglione.
It is important to note that the authenticity of the letter cannot be confirmed. The Justice Department has stated that investigators who looked into Epstein's death did not have access to this material. The release of the document is part of a judicial process and does not provide new conclusions about the circumstances of Epstein's death.