Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Feds: Video Of Jeffrey Epstein's Jail Suicide Attempt Was Accidentally Destroyed
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 9, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 9, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Federal prosecutors revealed on Thursday that the missing surveillance footage believed to show Jeffrey Epstein's first suicide attempt has been destroyed, by accident...somehow?
The footage was previously thought lost, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Swergold said last month, before later backtracking and announcing it had definitely been archived. But now it turns out that it "no longer exists." Hm!?
A letter filed in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday explains, sort of, the latest in a string of screw-ups surrounding the deceased financier's time in custody. Per court documents, jail staff at the Metropolitan Correctional Center "inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier within the MCC and as a result, video from outside the defendant’s cell on July 22-23, 2019 no longer exists."
Did they save over the original video? Does the jail's hard drive only have space for one security video of a serial sex offender with connections to the world's most powerful people at a time? The letter does not say.
The FBI apparently realized the error in the course of their investigation last week. While a backup video system was in place, that footage isn't available due to unspecified "technical errors," per the court filing.
The surveillance video had been requested by Epstein’s cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, who was hoping the footage would show he helped intervene in the initial suicide attempt.
“It is stunning that a video which we asked to be preserved and which the jail should have saved without a request was destroyed,” his lawyer Bruce Barket said in a statement. “More troubling are the various and inconsistent accounts of what happened to the video."
Footage from the day officers found Epstein dead in his cell was also declared partially unusable, for reasons that have never been fully explained, though might be chalked up to general incompetence at the notorious jail.
Recall that, having just come off suicide watch, Epstein should not have been alone in his cell for any stretch of time. It was later alleged that the guards fell asleep on duty, then attempted to fabricate records about their monitoring. They are set to stand trial this coming April and are, so far, the only people connected to Epstein to face charges.
Tagged
epstein
hmmmmmmmmmm
hmm
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY Archdiocese will soon settle $800M clergy sexual abuse claims
The deal would compensate over 1,300 alleged victims and help the church avoid bankruptcy.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 24, 2026
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
Residents cite sleep disruption and dust-induced illness from nearly ‘round the clock’ construction.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
Residents cite sleep disruption and dust-induced illness from nearly ‘round the clock’ construction.
By
Arya Sundaram
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .