Video from Epstein's 1st suicide attempt was permanently deleted, purportedly due to clerical error


Three weeks before indicted serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Aug. 10 apparent suicide in Manhattan's federal Metropolitan Correctional Center, he had been found unresponsive in his cell with marks around his neck after a suspected suicide attempt. Lawyers for his cellmate at the time, Nicholas Tartaglione, asked MCC to preserve the surveillance video from that time period to prove that Tartaglione didn't assault Epstein but in fact intervened to save him. MCC agreed. On Thursday, federal prosecutors said that video "no longer exists."
Due to a clerical error, "the MCC inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier within the MCC" and permanently deleted the footage from outside Epstein's cell, the prosecutors said in a court filing. After MCC lawyers identified the wrong cell, officials didn't watch the protected footage because "an MCC staff member confirmed that the video had been preserved," the filing continued. There is a system to back up all video from the Special Housing Unit where Epstein was being held, the prosecutors said, but an FBI review found that video on the backup system was erased "since at least August 2019 as a result of technical errors."
New York's medical examiner has ruled Epstein's death a suicide, and it would have been useful to have proof he'd tried to hang himself unsuccessfully before his death, if for no other reason than to tamp down persistent conspiracy theories that Epstein was murdered to protect his powerful friends from what Epstein knew of their sexual appetites.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Luckily, there is some footage from outside Epstein's cell on the morning he died. It is being used to prosecute his guards, who were supposed to have checked on him every 30 minutes but instead "browsed the internet for furniture, motorcycle sales, and sports news instead of monitoring Epstein in his cell, some 15 feet away in the Special Housing Unit," in the eighth hours before his death, according to their indictment.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Ed Martin: The US attorney taking on Trump's enemies
In the Spotlight He advocated for Jan. 6 defendants. Now Martin leads D.C. prosecutions.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Hot to get older: extreme heat can make people age faster
Under the radar New research shows warming temperatures can affect biological age
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Codeword: March 13, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Leonard Peltier released from prison
Speed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years
Speed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motive
Speed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Teenage girl kills 2 in Wisconsin school shooting
Speed Read 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Penny acquitted in NYC subway choking death
Speed Read Daniel Penny was found not guilty of homicide in the 2023 choking death of Jordan Neely
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Suspect in CEO shooting caught, charged with murder
Speed Read Police believe 26-year-old Luigi Mangione killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published