Jeffrey Epstein Found Injured in NYC Jail Cell After Possible Suicide Attempt: Sources
Accused pedophile and wealthy Manhattan financier Jeffrey Epstein was found injured and in a fetal position inside his cell at a New York City jail, according to sources close to the investigation.
Epstein, who is being held in Metropolitan Correctional Center during his trial for conspiracy and sex trafficking, was found semi-conscious with marks on his neck, two sources told News 4. Investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened, saying details remain murky.
Two sources tell News 4 that Epstein may have tried to hang himself, while a third source cautioned that the injuries were not serious and questioned if Epstein might be using it as a way to get a transfer.
A fourth source said an assault has not been ruled out, and that another inmate was questioned. The inmate who investigators have talked to in Lower Manhattan facility has been identified as Nicholas Tartaglione, according to two sources. Tartaglione is a former police officer in Westchester County who was arrested in December 2016 and accused of killing four men in an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy, then burying their bodies in his yard in Otisville in Orange County, according to court records.
Sources told News 4 investigators questioned Tartaglione, and the former cop claimed not to have seen anything and insisted he did not touch Epstein, sources said.
Jeffrey Epstein on suicide watch after accused sex trafficker is found injured in New York jail
- Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is on a suicide watch after the wealthy financier was found mysteriously injured in his cell in a federal jail in New York City, WNBC-TV reported Wednesday night.
- According to sources, officials do not know whether Epstein tried to hang himself, if he staged a suicide attempt, or if he was assaulted.
- The former friend of presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton is accused of sexually abusing dozens of young girls at his New York and Florida residences in the early 2000s.
Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is on a suicide watch after the wealthy financier was found mysteriously injured in his cell in a federal jail in New York City, WNBC-TV reported Wednesday night.
Epstein, who was arrested in early July on federal charges, was on the floor of his cell in a fetal position when he was discovered, sources told NBC. He was semi-conscious and had marks on his neck when he was found.
Epstein may have tried to hang himself in the lower Manhattan lockup, according to sources who spoke with WNBC-TV.
But another source said Epstein’s injuries were not serious, and raised the possibility that he may have used the incident to try obtain a transfer from the jail.
A fourth source who spoke with NBC said that officials have not ruled out the chance that Epstein was assaulted in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Another inmate in that jail, where Epstein is being held without bail, has been questioned about the incident.
NBC reported that the inmate was Nicholas Tartaglione, a former Orange County, New York, police officer who was arrested in December 2016 and accused of killing four men in an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy.