Epstein Autopsy Witness Challenges Suicide Finding: Injuries ‘More Consistent’ with ‘Homocidal Strangulation’

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A pathologist with decades of experience who observed Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy said the disgraced financier’s injuries in death were “more consistent” with “homicidal strangulation” than hanging and claimed demands for further investigation at the time were “superseded” to push the official ruling that he killed himself.

Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. New York’s chief medical examiner at the time, Dr. Barbara Sampson, ruled the death a suicide by hanging.

Dr. Michael Baden, who attended the autopsy as an observer on behalf of Epstein’s estate, told The Telegraph on Friday that the case “warranted” further scrutiny after the release of new documents by the Justice Department.

He said, “My opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging.”

“Given all the information now available, further investigation into the cause and manner of death is warranted,” he said.

Dr. Baden did not conduct the post-mortem but said he and the medical examiner initially agreed that “more information was needed to determine the cause and manner of death.” He noted his findings at the time were “inconclusive.”

A redacted version of the report, later released by the Justice Department, listed the “manner of death” as “pending”, with boxes for suicide and homicide left blank.

The official findings recorded three fractures in Epstein’s neck. Dr. Baden said he had never seen such injuries in a suicide by hanging during five decades reviewing inmate deaths.

“Even one fracture, we have to investigate the possibility of a homicide. Two definitely warrant a full investigation,” he told the newspaper. “Findings in textbooks never see those fractures, and neither have I.”

He added, “That was my opinion at that time, and I still stand by it. The autopsy findings are much more consistent with a crushing injury caused by homicidal strangulation than caused by hanging by suicide.”

According to the official report, a noose made of an orange bedsheet collected at the scene was later determined not to be one used in Epstein’s death. Dr. Baden said he had noticed this during the post mortem and was concerned at the time that “the noose didn’t match the [injury]”.

“It wasn’t smooth like the sheet, the markings [on Epstein’s neck] would have required a different type of material,” he said.

Dr Baden also criticized the handling of the crime scene, saying that critical evidence was lost because of mistakes made with the handling of Epstein’s body.

“[They] moved the body, guards refused to say how the body was found, and he was moved to the infirmary,” he said, which he added is a “highly unusual” move.

Most importantly, Dr. Baden says, Epstein’s time of death was “lost” – evidence, he said, that might have definitively helped rule out if his death was murder.

Federal authorities have maintained there is no evidence Epstein was murdered.

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