Epstein received threats days before he allegedly tried to kill himself, leaked memos reveal

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Freshly uncovered correctional documents are reigniting questions about Jeffrey Epstein’s death, suggesting the disgraced financier believed he was under threat days before his alleged suicide.

The memos, obtained by CBS News, paint a troubling picture of what unfolded inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in 2019, particularly during his time with cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione.

Epstein reported threats from a cellmate

According to the internal records, Epstein repeatedly told prison staff he feared Tartaglione, a former police officer awaiting trial for quadruple murder charges. The documents describe Tartaglione as a “hulking retired cop-turned-drug-dealer” and detail Epstein’s claims that he was being threatened and even extorted.

One memo notes Epstein said his cellmate warned him that “if he beat him up because of charges, the officers would not report it.” Epstein allegedly confided to officials that he had been receiving threats for days but avoided speaking out sooner out of fear of retaliation.

A source close to the case told CBS News what happened during Epstein’s first alleged suicide attempt on July 23, 2019: “(Epstein) is laying on the floor and his bunkie is screaming: ‘I did nothing, I banged on my door to get him out of my cell.’”

Shortly after regaining consciousness, Epstein provided law enforcement with his initial version of events, according to the documents. He suggested that his cellmate, a former police officer facing trial for four murders, may have attacked him.

“He sat up on the bed and began telling me that he (thinks) his bunkie … tried to kill him,” one responding officer noted in a memo.

The ex-financier told correctional officers that he suspected Tartaglione was attempting “to extort money from him and stated that if he didn't pay him that he would beat him up,” the officer documented. “He stated that this has been going on for a week.”

Tartaglione rejects allegations linking him to Epstein’s injuries

Tartaglione has consistently rejected claims that he harmed Epstein. His version of events, outlined in a separate memo, states that in the early morning hours, he awoke after something struck his legs. When he turned on the lights, he reportedly found Epstein “slumped on the floor ‘leaning to the side with his eyes opened’ and with fabric around his neck, though unresponsive.”

Despite Epstein’s warnings to staff about feeling unsafe, he was placed back into a shared cell until the July 23 incident. Afterward, he was moved onto suicide watch, though this was lifted just six days later, on July 29. Less than two weeks later, on August 10, Epstein was discovered dead in his cell, a death ruled suicide by hanging.

Epstein expressed positive plans for future

The memos also shed light on Epstein’s state of mind before his death. According to the reports, Epstein told staff he was “too much of a coward” to kill himself, denied feeling hopeless, and even expressed “positive future plans and reasons to live for.”

Epstein’s death has long fueled conspiracy theories and doubts about whether the facility adequately safeguarded him or if it allowed something more sinister to unfold.

At minimum, the leaked documents show Epstein named the person he feared, warned of threats, and then turned up dead soon after.