'Jeffrey Epstein was strangled': After 7 years, doctor who observed his autopsy for family says

Jeffrey Epstein

• Forensic expert renews doubts over Epstein's suicide ruling
• Dr. Michael Baden calls for more investigation into Epstein's death
• DOJ report cites jail failures and falsified records before death

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Nearly seven years after Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell, the circumstances surrounding his death are once again under scrutiny, with a prominent forensic pathologist renewing doubts about the official ruling of suicide.

Dr. Michael Baden, who observed Epstein’s autopsy on behalf of the financier’s family, has said fresh consideration should be given to the cause and manner of death. In an interview with The Telegraph, Baden reiterated his long-standing concerns.

“My opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging,” Baden told the paper. “Given all the information now available, further investigation into the cause and manner of death is warranted.”

Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The New York Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a suicide by hanging.

Although Baden did not perform the autopsy, he was present as an observer. He has said that during the examination, both he and the medical examiner agreed that additional information would be required before determining the final cause and manner of death.

Baden described his professional conclusion in 2019 as “inconclusive.” However, five days after Epstein’s death certificate was issued pending further investigation, then chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson determined the death to be a suicide. Sampson has consistently defended that conclusion. Baden told The Telegraph she was not present during the post-mortem.

The official autopsy report recorded three fractures in Epstein’s neck, including one on the left hyoid bone and two on the thyroid cartilage. Baden has said that in his five-decade career, he had never encountered three such fractures in a suicide by hanging, including in cases involving inmates in New York jails.

In August 2019, he told Fox News that “the evidence points toward homicide rather than suicide.” Epstein’s lawyers have also expressed dissatisfaction with the medical examiner’s findings, The Telegraph reported.

Questions about the case have been amplified by documented lapses at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre, where Epstein was being held.

A 2023 report by the US Department of Justice cited multiple failures at the facility, according to New York-based outlet Daily Express US. The report stated that Epstein had excess blankets, clothing and linens in his cell, some torn into strips resembling nooses. It also found that routine cell searches were not properly conducted or documented.

On August 9, 2019, a day before his death, Epstein’s cellmate was transferred and no replacement was assigned. After lockdown at around 8 pm, mandatory 30-minute wellness checks were not conducted after approximately 10.40 pm, according to CBS, which cited newly released video logs. Staff later falsified records to indicate the checks had been completed.

The following morning, two guards found Epstein hanging from the top bunk in what was described as a near-seated position, his body slightly off the floor. An orange strip of material, believed to be from clothing or bedding, was found around his neck. The guards removed it and attempted CPR before he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The two guards were later charged with falsifying records. Newly reviewed video logs examined by the Department of Justice reportedly showed what one account described as “a flash of orange” moving upstairs toward Epstein’s isolated tier at 10.39 pm on August 9.

An FBI memo described the figure as “possibly an inmate,” while the Inspector General’s report referred to it as an unidentified corrections officer carrying orange linen or bedding. Then Attorney General Bill Barr said at the time, “No one entered the tier that night.”

Independent video analysis commissioned by CBS suggested the movement appeared more consistent with someone wearing an orange prison uniform. Prison staff reportedly said escorting an inmate at that hour would have been unusual.

With Baden once again urging a closer examination of the evidence, questions surrounding Epstein’s death continue to linger years after the case was formally closed.