A new report published Tuesday in the New York Post says Jeffrey Epstein made at least three suicide attempts before he was found dead in August 2019 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York. The findings are based on testimony from inmates who shared his cell and on photos from the scene. They portray repeated warnings about Epstein’s suicidal state that, according to the report, were ignored by guards and prison officials.
One of the key witnesses is Nicholas Tartaglione, a former New York police officer serving a life sentence for murder, who was housed with Epstein in the early days of his detention. In an interview with the New York Times, Tartaglione said Epstein asked him days before the first known attempt, on July 22, 2019, how to make a hangman’s noose. He said he then saw two more preparations: once when Epstein tied a sheet to the window bars, and again when he was caught making a noose hidden under a mattress.
Tartaglione said he reported the incidents to guards, but they laughed at him and dismissed the warnings. Another inmate, Peter Bright, backed up Tartaglione’s account and said he heard about the attempts from him in real time. Epstein also tried to accuse Tartaglione of attacking him, but an internal Metropolitan Detention Center investigation cleared Tartaglione of any suspicion.
The materials released include graphic images of Epstein’s cell after his death on August 10, showing piles of sheets and multiple improvised orange-cloth ropes. The report says these items should not have been in the cell at all. Since Epstein’s death, the case has remained marked by questions over severe security failures at the federal jail, which has since been closed, and the newly reported attempts strengthen claims that his death followed not just a lapse in supervision but a broader pattern of institutional neglect.
