Claimed Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Note Found by Cellmate

A man who once shared a jail cell with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein says he discovered what appeared to be a suicide note written by the financier following an earlier suicide attempt in 2019.

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The document is now sealed in court records connected to the criminal case of Nicholas Tartaglione, a former New York police officer who was later convicted of four murders.

Tartaglione told The New York Times the note was written on paper from a yellow legal pad and hidden inside a book in their cell.

Alleged note discovered after first incident

According to Tartaglione, he found the note in July 2019 shortly after Epstein was discovered in his Manhattan jail cell following what authorities described as an apparent suicide attempt.

A Bureau of Prisons incident report stated that Epstein was found on 23 July with a homemade noose around his neck. Officers reported he was lying on the floor in a fetal position wearing a T-shirt and boxer shorts.

The report said Epstein was breathing heavily and snoring when discovered. Officials noted redness around his neck and a circular mark at its base, along with friction marks on the front of his neck.

Initially, Epstein told investigators that Tartaglione had attacked him. He later said he could not remember what had happened. Tartaglione has consistently denied harming Epstein.

Details shared publicly in podcast

Tartaglione first publicly mentioned the alleged suicide note during a podcast interview last year.

He said the note referred to a federal investigation and included a message suggesting authorities had looked into him for months without finding evidence of wrongdoing.

According to Tartaglione, the note also contained a brief farewell message and a drawn smiley face.

The document itself has not been released publicly and remains part of sealed court filings.

Court asked to unseal document

The New York Times has now asked a federal court to unseal the alleged note.

The newspaper argued that the document should be made public because Tartaglione has already discussed it openly and because a two-page timeline referencing the note appeared in recently disclosed files from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kenneth Karas, a U.S. District Court judge, has ordered parties involved in the case to respond to the request by 4 May.

Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York told ABC News they were not aware of any suicide note written by Epstein. However, a chart included in Justice Department records references the document.

The chart states that Tartaglione discovered the note sometime between 23 July and 27 July 2019.

Epstein denied suicidal thoughts

Records from Epstein’s jail evaluation show that he denied having suicidal thoughts after the initial incident.

During a suicide risk assessment, Epstein reportedly told staff he had no plans to harm himself and intended to fight the charges against him.

A psychologist at the Metropolitan Correctional Center wrote that Epstein said he had “no interest” in killing himself and described having a “wonderful life”.

Epstein had been arrested in 2019 on federal charges accusing him of running a network that recruited and sexually exploited underage girls at properties in New York and Florida.

He died on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial in the same jail. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging, a conclusion also accepted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tartaglione was later convicted in 2023 of four murders and sentenced in 2024 to four consecutive life terms. His appeal is currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 2 May 2026