While in a protective unit at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Manhattan, financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was supposed to be checked by two guards every 30 minutes, but that protocol was not followed on Friday night, a law enforcement official told The New York Times.
Epstein, 66, was found dead inside his cell at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Three weeks ago, Epstein was discovered inside his cell semiconscious with bruises around his neck, and was placed on suicide watch. Six days later, after going through daily psychiatric evaluations, the jail determined Epstein was no longer a threat to himself, and he was removed from suicide watch, the Times reports. Epstein was supposed to have a cellmate, three officials told the Times, but that man was recently transferred and Epstein was alone, in violation of the jail's rules.
On Friday, details from a civil suit against Epstein were released, revealing alleged incidents involving Epstein and other men abusing girls. The two guards on duty that night were working overtime, with one working a fifth straight day and the other ordered to come in, the Times reports.
Conspiracy theories are now swirling around Epstein's death, and on Sunday night, New York City's chief medical examiner said an autopsy has been conducted. She would not share her findings, but a city official told the Times she is confident Epstein's cause of death is suicide by hanging. The FBI and Department of Justice are launching investigations into Epstein's death. Attorney General William Barr's father, Donald Barr, hired Epstein to work at The Dalton School in New York City while he was headmaster.