Document reportedly discovered by former cellmate before Epstein’s death has been kept under court seal despite broader disclosures.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A document described as a suicide note attributed to Jeffrey Epstein has remained sealed in a New York court file for years, according to reporting by The New York Times.
A suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein weeks before his death in jail has been kept secret for years, locked up in a courthouse. That means investigators scrutinizing his death lacked what could have been a key piece of evidence. https://t.co/ep9ObVcJJR
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 30, 2026
The note was reportedly discovered by Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, weeks before Epstein’s death in July 2019. Tartaglione told investigators he found the document inside a book in their shared cell and later provided it to his legal team. The note, which has not been publicly released, allegedly included the statement, “What do you want me to do, bust out crying? Time to say goodbye.”
The document was sealed by a federal judge as part of Tartaglione’s criminal proceedings and has not been included in publicly disclosed materials related to Epstein’s case.
The existence of the note has drawn attention amid broader efforts to release records connected to Epstein. President Donald Trump signed legislation directing the Department of Justice to disclose unredacted materials tied to the investigation. In response, the department published millions of pages of documents, as detailed here, though the sealed note was not among them.
According to accounts cited in court filings, Tartaglione said he retained the note after Epstein accused him of assaulting him during a prior incident in custody. Epstein had previously told prison officials that his cellmate attacked him, though he later stated he had no issues sharing a cell with Tartaglione.
Documentation related to the note’s handling indicates Tartaglione’s attorneys attempted to verify its authenticity. Court records show the legal team ultimately treated the document as authentic, though specific details of that determination were not outlined.
The note did not play a role in official investigations into Epstein’s death, which occurred Aug. 10, 2019, while he was in federal custody. At the time, he had recently been placed under psychological evaluation following an earlier incident in July.
On the morning of his death, correctional officers assigned to his unit failed to complete required overnight checks and later filed inaccurate reports indicating they had done so. Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell and transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of continued scrutiny. Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist retained by Epstein’s family, told “Fox & Friends” in 2019 that the injuries observed during the autopsy were more consistent with homicidal strangulation than suicide, as reported here.
Federal prosecutors charged two correctional officers, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, in November 2019 with falsifying records and obstructing oversight functions. The charges were later dismissed after both individuals entered into deferred prosecution agreements, according to reporting here.
A subsequent review by the Justice Department’s inspector general identified multiple security failures at the facility, including malfunctioning surveillance equipment that limited available video evidence, as detailed in a report available here.
The sealed document attributed to Epstein remains inaccessible to the public, with no indication from the court regarding whether it may be released in the future.
Original article
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