The FBI and the US Department of Justice’s inspector general’s office will investigate how detained Jeffrey Epstein died in an apparent suicide on Saturday, while the probe into sexual abuse allegations against the well-connected financier remains ongoing, officials said.
Epstein, accused of orchestrating a sex-trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, had been taken off suicide watch before he killed himself in a New York jail, a person familiar with the matter said.
US Attorney General William Barr, in announcing the investigation, said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s death while in federal custody.
“Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Barr said in a statement.
Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Fire officials received a call at 6:39am that Epstein was in cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital.
Epstein, 66, had been denied bail and faced up to 45 years behind bars on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges unsealed last month. He had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial.
The federal investigation into the allegations remains steadfast, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.
Epstein had been placed on suicide watch and given daily psychiatric evaluations after an incident a little over two weeks ago in which he was found with bruising on his neck, according to the person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
He was taken off suicide watch at the end of last month.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that he had been housed in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, part of the facility that separates high-profile inmates from the general population
On Friday, more than 2,000 pages of documents were released related to a since-settled lawsuit against Epstein’s ex-girlfriend by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers.
The records contain graphic allegations against Epstein, as well as the transcript of a 2016 deposition of Epstein in which he repeatedly refused to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself.
Giuffre, in an interview with the New York Times, said she was grateful Epstein will never harm anyone again, but is angry that there would be no chance to see him answer for his conduct.
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