Congress Exposes Jeffrey Epstein Prison Mystery With Eight Hours Without Checks, Missing CCTV and Mystery Figure

A congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's death has uncovered serious security failures at the New York prison where the convicted sex offender was found dead, including nearly eight hours without required checks, missing CCTV footage and an unidentified figure captured on a staircase leading towards his cell.

Testimony from prison guards and former officials has raised further questions about what happened during Epstein's final hours at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019.

Epstein Guards Missed 12 Checks

According to the House Oversight Committee's report, correctional officers on both shifts failed to complete at least 12 required inspection rounds and three headcounts on the night of 9 August 2019. The lapses left prisoners without adequate supervision for nearly eight hours.

Former correctional officer Tova Noel, who was working that night, testified before the committee that the officer responsible for conducting a cell inspection had slept through it.

Noel also told investigators that her supervisor instructed her to complete paperwork despite her lack of proper training for the assignment.

Mystery Figure Spotted Near Cell

Another significant detail involved surveillance footage showing an unidentified orange-coloured figure moving up a staircase towards Epstein's prison tier at approximately 10:39pm on 9 August.

The image was captured hours before Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell the following morning. The individual's identity and movements remain unclear.

During her congressional testimony, Noel denied being the person shown in the footage. She said she had not allowed anyone into the area and insisted the figure was not her.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly suggested the individual could have been a correctional officer. However, the available footage has not established who the person was or why they appeared near Epstein's housing area.

Epstein Prison CCTV Failures

The surveillance system at the Metropolitan Correctional Center also came under scrutiny.

According to a 2023 investigation by the Department of Justice inspector general, a hard drive failure meant most cameras were streaming footage but not recording it that night. Investigators consequently had only a partial view of the staircase leading to Epstein's tier.

The available recording showed the orange-coloured figure but did not provide a clear identification. The technical failures complicated efforts to reconstruct activity around Epstein's cell during his final hours.

Guard Entered Epstein's Cell Alone

The investigation also examined what happened when Epstein was discovered the following morning.

Noel testified that she and another correctional officer were assigned breakfast duty when they noticed Epstein was unresponsive. She said she returned to her desk to make a telephone call while the other officer entered the cell alone and reportedly attempted CPR.

The circumstances raised questions about whether prison procedures were followed during the emergency response.

Congress Investigates Epstein's Death

Noel and former Attorney General Bill Barr both maintained that Epstein died by suicide.

The House Oversight Committee's investigation, based on 19 witness interviews, financial records, DOJ documents and estate files, also examined the failures that allowed Epstein's abuse to continue and the controversial 2007 non-prosecution deal.

Its recommendations included further DOJ investigations into Epstein's associates and measures to prevent nondisclosure agreements from silencing survivors.