A shocking video has appeared online showing what looks like Jeffrey Epstein in his prison cell before committing suicide.
The 12-second clip was released as part of the Epstein file dump from the US Department of Justice, timestamped August 10, 2019 at 4.29 am.
Two hours later that same morning, a Metropolitan Correctional Centre prison guard discovered the disgraced financier dead in his cell after he hanged himself with his bed sheets.
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While the video shows a similar-looking man to Epstein attempting to hang himself, it does not show the manner in which Epstein was later found.
After causing a flurry of interest on social media, the video was revealed to be fake.
The disturbing clip titled “Epstein 4k”, has been on YouTube since 2020, and was created using “Video Enhance AI” according to the original poster’s caption.
Another dumped document on the DOJ site confirmed that the clip was indeed a fake video that had been circulating on 4chan before being flagged by investigators.
A Trump Administration official later confirmed to the New York Post that the video was bogus, and the video was removed from the DOJ’s website on Monday.
If it was real, it would have discounted investigators’ narrative that the cameras watching Epstein’s cell malfunctioned on the night of his death.
The lack of footage has been one of the main sources of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death, with some people claiming the convicted child sex offender may have been killed to avoid implicating powerful figures in his crimes.
The fake video featured alongside a trove of sickening pictures showing the convicted sex offender surrounded by women. Credit: House Oversight Committee
According to a 2023 report from the Bureau of Prisons, there was no camera in the facility that had a clear view of Epstein on the night of his death.
The report said that “recorded video evidence for August 9 and 10 for the SHU (special housing unit) area where Epstein was housed was only available from one prison security camera due to a malfunction”.
The inside of Epstein’s cell could not be seen from that one camera.
Epstein death had already been the centre of speculation in June, when a clip from outside Epstein’s cell block on the night of his death was released by the DOJ.
However, the footage was missing an entire minute from 11.59 pm to 12 am, which was caused by a system reset every night according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The missing minute eventually appeared in another file drop two months later, quashing the theories.
This round of Epstein file dumps began last week revealing scores of photos, but so far, no conspiracy has been confirmed.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs emotional support, please reach out to Lifeline immediately.
