Two surveillance cameras stationed outside the Manhattan prison cell where convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein died are under examination by the FBI’s crime laboratory in Virginia, according to Reuters.
The report comes two days after the Washington Post stated that security footage from at least one camera near Epstein’s cell was deemed unusable by authorities. The Post said the reason behind the cameras faulty condition was unknown.
Earlier this month, New York City’s chief medical examiner determined that Epstein died on August 10th from hanging himself. The New York Post, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that the disgraced financier was discovered with a bedsheet around his neck that was tied to his bunk bed. “The convicted pedophile, who was 6 feet tall, apparently killed himself by kneeling toward the floor and strangling himself with the makeshift noose,” the Post said.
The 66-year-old faced charges of sex trafficking minor girls and potentially could have named high-profile people who had sex with the girls. He was accused of abusing dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005.
Epstein previously was on suicide watch after he was found semiconscious in his cell with marks on his neck on July 23rd. He was removed from suicide watch after roughly a week.
Epstein’s attorneys Martin G. Weinberg, Reid Weingarten, and Michael Miller, said in a statement that they were “not satisfied with the conclusions of the medical examiner.”
“The defense team fully intends to conduct its own independent and complete investigation into the circumstances and cause of Mr. Epstein’s death including if necessary legal action to view the pivotal videos — if they exist as they should — of the area proximate to Mr. Epstein’s cell during the time period leading to his death,” the trio told CNBC.
“No one should die in jail,” the attorneys added. “And no one, not Mr. Epstein who was presumed innocent and had violated no prison disciplinary rule, and not anyone should be imprisoned under the harsh, even medieval conditions at the MCC where Mr. Epstein spent his final hours. His safety was the responsibility of the MCC. It is indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols.”
Attorney General William Barr said he was “appalled that Epstein died while in federal custody. He directed the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate “serious irregularities” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan.
“Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Barr said in a statement.
The Justice Department has reassigned the warden at that jail, Lamine N’Diaye, and two guards were placed on administrative leave.
On Tuesday, roughly two dozen alleged Epstein victims called for federal prosecutors to forge ahead with their investigation and bring the millionaire hedge fund manager’s co-conspirators “to justice.”
“The fact I will never have a chance to face my predator in court eats away at my soul,” Jennifer Araoz, who alleges Epstein raped when she was only 15-years-old, told attendees. “They let this man kill himself and kill the chance of justice for so many others in the process, taking away our ability to speak.”
The UPI contributed to this report.
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