Jeffrey Epstein Death Shocker: Inmate Claims Guards Said 'You Killed Him', Discussed Prison 'Cover-Up'

Newly released Justice Department files include an FBI note in which an inmate claimed prison guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City openly discussed covering up Jeffrey Epstein's death on the morning his body was discovered in August 2019.

Inmate Alleges Talk Of 'Cover-Up' In Cell Block

According to a handwritten note in the latest batch of Justice Department files released, an inmate claimed that a guard made a striking remark as breakfast was being handed out on the morning Jeffrey Epstein was found unresponsive.

The note records the guard as allegedly saying: 'If he is dead, we're going to cover it up and he's going to have an alibi, my officers.'

The same note states that other prisoners started shouting that 'Miss Noel killed Jeffrey'. The name 'Miss Noel' appears to refer to Tova Noel, one of the correctional officers on duty that night.

Jeffrey Epstein Death Records Put Tova Noel Back In Focus

The fresh documents also revisit in detail the role of Tova Noel in the hours leading up to Jeffrey Epstein's death.

A transcript of Noel's interview with FBI agents shows she was questioned about an internet search of Epstein's name carried out on a prison computer shortly before he died. The transcript records an agent asking her: 'No? Does it surprise you to hear that you know internet searches would show that that's what you were doing from 5:42 to 5:52 a.m. on August 10, 2019?'

Noel responded that it would surprise her and insisted, 'It wouldn't be accurate.' She also claimed she had not known who Epstein was before being assigned to the special housing unit where he was housed.

During the same interview, Noel acknowledged that she was the last person to see or speak with Epstein alive. She recalled that he had asked her to plug in his CPAP machine. According to her account, another guard later found Epstein unresponsive in his cell and began CPR.

'Breathe, Epstein, breathe!' Noel remembered the guard shouting as he tried to resuscitate the inmate. She said the guard then turned to her and said, 'We're going to be in so much trouble.'

Falsified Logs, Dropped Charges And Lingering Suspicion

Noel was later charged over allegations that she falsified records to show that she and another officer, Michael Thomas, had carried out required rounds on the unit when, according to investigators, they had not. Those criminal charges were eventually dropped although both lost their jobs.

However, the FBI report is likely to fuel further suspicion, as the New York Post also reported on Saturday that Noel's bank flagged a $5,000 (£3,728) cash deposit into her Chase account on 30 July 2019 — one week after Epstein was discovered in his cell in what prison officials ruled was a suicide attempt on 23 July 2019.

Official accounts of that earlier incident state that Epstein initially told prison staff his cellmate had tried to kill him after allegedly extorting him for money.

Links to Cash Received

Noel's bank statements in the released files indicate that she received several thousand dollars in cash and Zelle transfers in the months leading up to Epstein's death. Her financial records also show she was making payments on a new Range Rover.

However, investigators did not question her about the cash during her Justice Department interview. Attempts to contact her lawyer on Saturday were unsuccessful, The Detroit News reported.

Epstein, a disgraced financier facing federal sex-trafficking charges, was found dead in his cell at the age of 66. The inmate's story has not been independently verified, but it still adds to the unresolved questions surrounding Epstein's death in custody.

The New York medical examiner and the US Department of Justice both ruled that Epstein died by suicide. Dr Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist engaged by Epstein's estate to observe the post-mortem, has argued that Epstein's injuries looked more consistent with strangulation than with suicide.