A prominent forensic pathologist has publicly challenged the official ruling on the death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the disgraced financier was likely strangled rather than hanged in his New York jail cell.
Dr. Michael Baden, who observed Epstein’s autopsy in August 2019, is urging authorities to reopen the investigation—nearly seven years after Epstein was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Epstein was officially pronounced dead on August 10, 2019, while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
However, Dr. Baden, who attended the post-mortem as an observer on behalf of Epstein’s estate, says he remains unconvinced by that conclusion.
“My opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging,” Baden told The Telegraph.
“Given all the information now available, further investigation into the cause and manner of death is warranted.”
Although Baden did not conduct the autopsy himself, he said that at the time of the examination both he and the medical examiner agreed additional information was necessary to definitively determine the cause and manner of death.
Newly Released Footage and Files Raise Further Questions
Fresh scrutiny follows the release of more than three million pages of documents by the United States Department of Justice related to Epstein’s case.
Among the newly disclosed materials is previously unseen surveillance footage from inside the prison.
The video shows a correctional officer approaching a desk near Epstein’s cell at approximately 6:30 a.m. on the morning of his death. Seconds later, the officer walks toward the cell. Within minutes, additional guards are seen moving between the security desk and the housing unit.
Officials declared Epstein dead at 6:39 a.m., bringing an abrupt end to one of the most closely followed federal criminal proceedings in recent history.
Separate records released by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General indicate investigators also flagged unusual CCTV activity from the night before Epstein’s death.
According to an internal report, FBI agents reviewing footage at 10:39 p.m. on August 9, 2019, observed what was described as “a flash of orange” moving up a staircase toward the tier where Epstein was held.
The report noted the movement “could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier.” Subsequent documents reveal disagreement among authorities over the origin and significance of the unexplained “orange flash.”
The latest disclosures are likely to intensify debate surrounding the circumstances of Epstein’s death, which has remained the subject of public controversy since 2019.
