Did Jeffrey Epstein's Cellmate Try to Kill Him Weeks Before His Controversial Death? By Liam Quinn

Weeks before authorities say Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail, the disgraced financier claimed his cellmate tried to kill him. A new CBS report sheds further details on that incident, which still has unanswered questions attached to it.

Epstein died on Aug. 10, 2019, having been arrested the month prior on federal sex trafficking charges.

According to a report released by the Department of Justice in 2023, Epstein was found on the floor of his cell with an orange cloth around his neck on July 23, 2019. The cellmate told jail staff that Epstein had tried to hang himself, while the financier claimed the cellmate had tried to kill him.

Epstein also claimed at the time that his cellmate had tried to extort him.

“He sat up on the bed and began telling me that he [thinks] his bunkie … tried to kill him,” a responding officer said in a memo, newly reported by CBS.

The next day, however, according to the report, Epstein changed his tune and said he didn’t remember how he’d sustained the injuries.

CBS reported that the cellmate has long denied trying to kill Epstein and that his lawyer said the initial accusation was “not true.”

A day before the July 23 incident, CBS News reported, citing a memo, Epstein claimed he was concerned by his cellmate.

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CBS reported that Epstein had told a corrections officer that the day before he was found on the floor, his cellmate had referenced a New York Daily News article about him that estimated what his net worth was.

Epstein then reportedly told the officer that he remembers waking up at 1 a.m. and then didn’t remember anything until 30 minutes later, when officers had rushed into his cell.

According to the Justice Department’s report, Epstein later asked to be returned to the cell with the same cellmate after he was kept on suicide watch for a day.