Wait, what? Jeffrey Epstein strangled? Probably not. Only probably.

So I was reasonably satisfied that Jeffrey Epstein’s death was suicide and expecting to let the matter drop. This isn’t the kind of thing I normally pay much attention to but the possibility that this was murder to cover up the misdeeds of his fellow elites brought it to the edge of my area of interest.[1]

But, uh oh. It turns out Epstein’s hyoid bone, a bone that would be near his Adam’s apple, was broken. Apparently such a breakage is more often associated with strangulation than with suicide. On its own, this finding is not conclusive either way, but requires further investigation.[2]

Epstein was in a “special housing unit” and had no cell mate at the time of his death. Guards who were supposed to check on him every half hour had in fact not checked on him for several hours.[3]

I was unable to locate specific information on special housing units (SHUs) at the Metropolitan Corrections Center. However, in general, the Federal Bureau of Prisons defines these units as

housing units in Bureau institutions where inmates are securely separated from the general inmate population, and may be housed either alone or with other inmates. Special housing units help ensure the safety, security, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, and protect the public, by providing alternative housing assignments for inmates removed from the general population.[4]

The program statement explicitly forbids contact between inmates in SHUs and inmates in the general population and states that protection of an inmate is one reason for placing that inmate in a SHU.[5]

As I understand it, nobody should have been able to get to Epstein to murder him. If it was murder, this would seem to entail some cooperation with prison staff, whether a murderer presented some form of authorization to access Epstein (nothing has been heard of this) or guards enabled unauthorized access that was not recorded. Either way, I would expect some video evidence—I haven’t heard of this either.

So I have to still think it was suicide. But I will be paying attention a bit longer.

  1. [1]David Benfell, “Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Send in the conspiracy clowns,” Not Housebroken, August 11, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/08/11/jeffrey-epstein-is-dead-send-in-the-conspiracy-clowns/
  2. [2]Carol D. Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, “Autopsy finds broken bones in Jeffrey Epstein’s neck, deepening questions around his death,” Washington Post, August 15, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/autopsy-finds-broken-bones-in-jeffrey-epsteins-neck-deepening-questions-around-his-death/2019/08/14/d09ac934-bdd9-11e9-b873-63ace636af08_story.html
  3. [3]Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett, “Corrections officers did not check on Epstein for ‘several’ hours before his death, violating protocol, person familiar with case says,” Washington Post, August 11, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/it-was-inevitable-officers-watching-epstein-were-on-overtime-due-to-jail-staffing-shortage-union-president-says/2019/08/11/2b611404-bc5e-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html
  4. [4]Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Special Housing Units,” November 23, 2016, https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5270.11.pdf
  5. [5]Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Special Housing Units,” November 23, 2016, https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5270.11.pdf

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