Jeffrey Epstein autopsy confirms he committed suicide

New York City's medical examiner is contradicting any conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's death.

Epstein, the 66-year-old financier accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving dozens of minor girls, died Saturday of suicide by hanging, the examiner's office announced Friday. The news comes after The Washington Post reported Thursday that Epstein's autopsy was pointing toward confirming he committed suicide, though it didn't dispel swirling conspiracies that suggested otherwise.

The Thursday Post report didn't immediately confirm Epstein's death by suicide, but it did say Epstein had been found to have broken bones in his neck, which are more likely to be found in a strangulation case. This only fueled theories that Epstein's death was actually a homicide, but the medical examiner stymied those suggestions in a Friday statement.

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Epstein was arrested last month for alleged sex trafficking and was being held in Manhattan's Metropolitan Correction Center. He was soon placed on suicide watch after an apparent suicide attempt, but was removed from that status shortly before his death over the weekend. Reports have since suggested there were irregular circumstances surrounding Epstein's death, including that the guards looking after him were overworked and possibly even asleep. Attorney General William Barr has pledged to look into these "serious irregularities," including why Epstein was allowed to be alone in his cell.