Cell death triggers wave of conspiracies
THE DEATH of Jeffrey Epstein, whose body was discovered in his prison cell on Saturday after an apparent suicide, has triggered a wave of conspiracy theories online.
The US financier, who was awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex, was not on suicide watch this weekend even though he had attempted to take his own life less than three weeks ago.
Epstein was given daily psychiatric evaluations after July 23, when he was found unconscious in his cell with marks around his neck, but he was removed from suicide watch and returned to a segregated area of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on July 29, the New York
Times reported. It later quoted New York’s chief medical examiner as being “confident” Epstein died by hanging himself.
The 66-year-old, already convicted of soliciting prostitution with a minor a decade ago, had been denied bail and was facing up to 45 years in prison. He had pleaded not guilty.
Epstein’s ties to recognised individuals around the world including President Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak prompted online theorists to speculate his death was not a suicide, or that it had been staged.
The hashtag #EpsteinMurder trended worldwide and thousands shared conspiracies on Twitter alleging Epstein had been a Mossad agent, that his killing had been ordered by a “Jewish mafia” or that the Talmud contains passages that justified sex abuse children who are not Jewish.
A widely-circulated doctored photograph showed Epstein appearing alongside Mr Trump and his daughter Ivanka, while last weekend Mr Trump himself shared a tweet that alleged Epstein had died because he “had information on [former president] Bill Clinton”.
Both Mr Trump and Mr Clinton deny being privy to Epstein’s scheme.
Some of Epstein’s accusers had described being abused by his friends and colleagues in an alleged sex-trafficking ring.
Politicians, law enforcement officials and Epstein’s alleged victims expressed shock that he could have taken his own life in such circumstances.
Democrat Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, said the “competency and rigor of our criminal justice system has been marred.”
The US Attorney General Bill Barr said he was “appalled”. Two guards assigned to watch Epstein were placed on leave amid a Justice Department investigation.