A federal judge has released a purported suicide note attributed to Jeffrey Epstein that was reportedly discovered after an earlier jail incident weeks before the convicted sex offender’s death in 2019.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge in New York on Wednesday unsealed a purported suicide note allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein weeks before he was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
According to multiple reports, Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York ordered the document released following a petition by The New York Times seeking to unseal the records.
The Times reported Wednesday that it has not independently authenticated the note.
The handwritten document reportedly dates to July 2019 after Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his jail cell with a strip of cloth wrapped around his neck. Epstein survived that incident but was later found dead weeks afterward at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. His death was officially ruled a suicide.
Parts of the note were described as difficult to read. One line reportedly stated, “They investigated for months — found nothing!!!”
Another section appeared to reference criminal allegations against Epstein stemming from earlier accusations.
“It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye,” the note reportedly stated. “Watcha want me to do — bust out cryin!! NO FUN — not worth it!!”
The document had not previously been included among large collections of Epstein-related records released over the past year by the Department of Justice.
According to the Times, a Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency itself had never seen the note before its release.
The note reportedly surfaced through the criminal case involving Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, who is serving four life sentences following his 2023 conviction in a quadruple homicide case.
After the July 2019 jail incident, Epstein reportedly told correctional staff that Tartaglione had attacked him and insisted he was not suicidal. Tartaglione has consistently denied assaulting Epstein.
According to the Times, Tartaglione later claimed he discovered the note hidden inside a book within their shared jail cell.
The document became entangled in legal disputes involving Tartaglione’s attorneys and was ultimately sealed by the court.
A chronology included among recently released Justice Department documents reportedly stated that Tartaglione informed his attorney about the note on July 27, 2019, four days after Epstein was found with marks on his neck.
The chronology indicated that Tartaglione’s legal team spent months attempting to verify the note’s authenticity. The document was reportedly authenticated by January 2020, though the records do not explain how or by whom the authentication occurred.
The Times also reported it remains unclear who authored the chronology itself or why it was created.
The purported note was not referenced in the Justice Department inspector general’s 2023 report examining Epstein’s death and the major security failures at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center.
That report upheld the New York medical examiner’s ruling that Epstein died by suicide while documenting extensive lapses involving prison staffing, inmate monitoring, and broken surveillance procedures.
Epstein’s death at age 66 has fueled years of public scrutiny, speculation, and political controversy due to the unusual security failures surrounding his detention and his longstanding relationships with wealthy and influential figures around the world.
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