Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has reportedly committed suicide. His body was found in a New York City jail cell this morning. Watch ABC’s special report:
Epstein’s death comes just hours after court documents were unsealed detailing the financier’s life. From the Miami Herald.
“The documents, the largest cache to be released in the 13 years since Epstein’s case began, offer brutal details about Epstein’s trafficking of teenage girls in Palm Beach, New York and overseas — as well as Maxwell’s obsessive and often abusive quest to provide him with new girls over a span of years in the early to mid 2000s.“
Epstein was reportedly NOT on suicide watch after an earlier attempt to take his own life. NBC News is reporting he hanged himself.
The 66-year-old’s death came one day after the Miami Herald and other news organizations published a trove of documents describing in detail how he operated the equivalent of a sexual pyramid scheme, luring underage girls to his Palm Beach home, then coercing them into sex.
The Washington Post adds some close to Epstein fear he was murdered.
“People close to Epstein refused to rule out foul play, according to one person familiar with their discussions early Saturday, and asserted that Epstein seemed in good spirits in recent days. His attorneys are seeking to learn from authorities how Epstein’s body was found, and how such an incident could have occurred, this person said.“
“Attorney General William P. Barr, upon being informed of Epstein’s death while in federal custody, was “livid” and determined to figure out exactly what happened, said a person familiar with his reaction.“
