Jeffrey Epstein's death in a jail cell in Manhattan has been ruled a suicide by hanging, according to the New York medical examiner.
ADVERTISEMENTAn autopsy has concluded that financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell last Saturday while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, hanged himself, a spokeswoman for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner said.
The statement read: "Cause: Hanging. Manner: Suicide," without providing supporting details.
The wealthy and well-connected money manager was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, triggering investigations into the circumstances of his death. He was 66.
Epstein was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14.
Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson said her determination of the cause of death came after a "careful review of all investigative information, including complete autopsy findings."
However, Epstein’s lawyers said they were "not satisfied" with the medical examiner’s conclusions and planned to carry out their own investigation, seeking prison videos taken around the time of his death.
“It is indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols,” Epstein’s lawyers Martin Weinberg, Reid Weingarten and Michael Miller said in a statement, describing conditions in the area he was held as, “harsh, even medieval.”
Epstein was already a registered sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex.
Prior to his conviction, he had counted the rich and powerful, including U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, among his associates.