A forensic pathologist hired by the family of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein claimed Wednesday that evidence suggests the financier was killed by being strangled—not by suicide. His brother, Mark Epstein, is reportedly worried “that his life, and the lives of other people, may be in danger” because federal authorities have not “fully investigated what happened to his brother,” The Miami Herald reports. “The brother doesn’t think it was suicide—he is concerned it might be murder. It’s 80 days now and if, in fact, it is a homicide, other people might be in jeopardy,” said Michael Baden, the prominent forensic pathologist who was brought in to oversee the Epstein autopsy. The New York City medial examiner concluded that the 66-year-old’s August death was caused by hanging in his Manhattan jail cell, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. On Fox & Friends, Baden said the autopsy he observed “points to homicide rather than suicide” and that Epstein had a number of injuries that “are extremely unusual in suicidal hangings and could occur much more commonly in homicidal strangulation.” Baden added: “I’ve not seen in 50 years where that occurred in a suicidal hanging case.”
To be clear, New York City’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, has ruled Epstein’s death a suicide and has strongly denied the claims made by Baden. She confirmed on Wednesday that she stands “firmly” behind her previous findings. Baden, 85, famously testified for the defense in the O.J. Simpson murder trial and was hired to conduct private autopsies after the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
Read it at The New York Times
