Disclaimer: Please note that this article contains an image from the autopsy. This image may be graphic and disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
In a recent interview with journalist Megyn Kelly, Mark Epstein, the brother of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, raised questions about the official version that Jeffrey's death was a suicide.
Mark Epstein discussed the never-before-seen evidence and inconsistencies surrounding the circumstances of his brother's death, suggesting it may have been a murder.
Mark Epstein began by recounting how he initially thought his brother's death was a suicide when he first heard the news on television. But his point of view changed after the autopsy was performed.
Concerned about the accuracy of the investigation, Mark Epstein hired Dr. Michael Baden, a renowned forensic pathologist, to witness the autopsy. To Mark's surprise, both Dr. Baden and the city pathologist, Dr. Christine Roman, concluded that the injuries inflicted on Jeffrey Epstein were not consistent with suicide by hanging. They noted that Jeffrey Epstein suffered three fractures to his neck, which is not common in suicidal hangings.
“Just as a precaution, I appointed Dr. Michael Budden to witness the autopsy, which I have the right to do,” Mark said. “The city pathologists, Dr. Roman and Dr. Budden, came out of the autopsy saying they couldn't call this a suicide because “It's almost like a murder.”
“It shows that no one has more experience of dealing with deaths in prisons than Dr Baden. He said he had never seen these results before, such as three broken bones in Jeffrey's neck, as a result of a suicide hanging like this. So the question arises: If not “He committed suicide. He was killed. Then who killed him? How did that happen? So, these questions started to appear.”
The conversation then turned to Attorney General William Barr's public statement regarding the case. Mark Epstein criticized Barr's assertion that he personally saw the video footage from the camera outside the floor in which Jeffrey's cell was located.
Barr claimed that no one entered or left the class, which led him to conclude that it was a suicide. Mark Epstein found this statement questionable, questioning Barr's ability to personally review hours of footage and suggesting it may be an attempt to cover up the truth.
“When I heard him make that statement, I thought, ‘Either he's the dumbest guy on the planet or he's hiding something.'” Because for two reasons: One, the assumption is that someone could get through that door, get in undetected, kill someone, and get out. Leaving without being detected was ironic because there were six levels of security before you reached this level.This was the most guarded place in the prison.
“So, it didn't make any sense. And then, when he said he himself saw the videotape, he watched the videotape, I thought, 'But this is the United States Attorney.' Can I see him sitting next to the screen, watching a videotape all night to make sure… That no one came in or out? Couldn't he have the people in his office watching the videotape and say that no one came in or out? So, when I heard that he had seen the videotape himself and concluded that it was a suicide because no one came in or out, I said: This is nonsense.
Mark went on to say that he had heard of cell doors being left open, which would have allowed other prisoners access to Jeffrey's cell. He also expressed frustration with his attempts to obtain information about other inmates on the level, their length of stay, and their current whereabouts.
“I believe there were eleven other prisoners on this level, in the cells that could have killed him, because I heard that early in my investigation. I heard through a reliable source that the cell doors were left open. So, if the cell doors were left open… – I don't know how many or which ones – but someone could have gone out and killed him and gone back to his cell, and that's how it was done. So, I was trying to find out who the 11 prisoners in that wing were, because if Jeff was killed, it had to be on Someone's hand.
When asked about his attempts to get answers from the government, Mark Epstein explained that he and other media outlets had made requests for information about the case. However, they were met with limited cooperation. He noted the existence of effective surveillance footage from outside Tabqa but expressed frustration at the lack of access to it.
“We can't get the footage that was brought up multiple times when they took Jeff out of that level, when they took his body out of that level and brought him to the infirmary. Where's the footage from that time period?”
Furthermore, he stated that during a meeting with Department of Justice officials, he received a general response that the death had been ruled a suicide after a thorough investigation, despite numerous questions remaining unanswered.
According to Mark, the emergency responders and hospital staff involved in the case were never questioned by authorities, something he found highly unusual given their roles in high-profile incidents.
He also highlighted procedural irregularities, noting that his brother's body should not have been removed from the cell before the coroner arrived, because the status and condition of the deceased person could provide important forensic information.
“There were a lot of kinds of rules that were broken here. First, when they found Jeff dead in his cell, he had been dead for at least two hours. We know that from the autopsy result because of the mark that was left on his neck, which you can see in the photo (see below “For this mark to be pinned to his neck in this way and dried in this way, he would have had to have been dead. For at least two hours.”
“It could have been 6 hours, but at least 2 hours. So when they found him, he was clearly dead. Completely dead. He was not reviveable. He should not have been moved. A medical examination should have been done immediately. They should not have moved him.” Also, because when they find a body, the position of the body provides a lot of information. That's why they tell you to never move a dead body.
During the interview, Mark Epstein raised doubts about the official story by discussing the position of Jeffrey's body when it was found. According to the Justice Department report, Jeffrey was described as being suspended in a sitting position with his legs extended in front of him, an inch or so off the ground.
Mark Epstein stressed that if this had been the case, there would have been glaucoma or blood pooling in his legs and buttocks due to gravity. However, autopsy photos obtained by Mark Epstein showed no signs of villi in those areas, casting doubt on the official description of how Jeffrey was discovered.
Megyn Kelly has revealed a never-before-seen autopsy photo showing the mark on Jeffrey Epstein's neck, with Mark Epstein noting that the position and depth of the mark are not consistent with the type of ligature mark that would be expected if Jeffrey hanged himself. As described by official reports.
Mark noted that the ligature mark appears to be in the middle of the neck and not higher under the chin, as would be expected in a hanging.
Mark Epstein: If you imagine him hanging for at least two hours – as I said, it could have been 6 hours, but at least two hours – you would expect to find blueness, pooling of blood in his buttocks and especially in the back of his body. His legs, because it was the lowest point, and that's where the blood settled. But the autopsy photos – and I have other autopsy photos – show that his legs were clear and his buttocks were clear. There is some fuzz on the back.
Mark Epstein: There is some zing on the back. But if he had only been dead for two hours and then they put him on the ground, that blue on his back could have come after that. Therefore, this is not conclusive. But since his legs were clear, even if they placed him on the ground, blood would not flow from his legs to his back unless he was hanging upside down. The fact that his legs and buttocks were black raises doubt that he was found in the manner they described.
Megyn Kelly: So wait, let's put a point on it so people don't have to find out. So, what you're saying is that you don't believe that he was killed, obviously, the way they tell us, and that if he really hanged himself, there would have been cysts under his legs and in the buttocks from the way he was found hanging – almost hanging in a sitting position off the ground. And there was nothing. So, is there a working theory as to whether it was a murder, and how this evidence makes sense? Why was there no fuzz on the back of the legs?
Mark Epstein: Well, that's because he probably wasn't being hanged the way they say he should. Because if he was hanging, as they said, his legs and buttocks would be evidence of his blueness.
Megyn Kelly: And in that picture that you gave us, Mark, is it the autopsy picture and the mark around the neck? I'm not an expert on this, but it sure seems to me – I'm having a hard time understanding, as a layman, how the paper made this mark…it looks more like a groot or some kind of rope or wire. What did the doctor say about that?
Mark Epstein: Well, when they came out of the autopsy, both doctors said it looked like something called ligature strangulation. This is where, like the groat where you go from behind and pull something tight around someone's neck… The way they described it, he was hanging, his body was up off the ground, his buttocks were up off the ground, and his legs were extended in front of him. So, there was probably some weight on his feet, on his lower legs. But the bulk of his body weight was hanging by his neck from the supposed top bunk.
Mark Epstein: If this is the case. You can find pictures of people hanging from old lynching photos or war photos. The band, the thing that surrounds the neck, goes up under the chin and goes up behind the ears, up under the chin. But from that picture, the ligature mark on his neck was kind of in the middle of his neck and going straight back.
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