Jeffrey Epstein Found in Cell After 'Possible Suicide Attempt or Assault'
Billionaire pedophile found 'semi-conscious with neck injuries' in prison
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Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been found "semi-conscious with neck injuries" on the floor of his prison cell following a "possible suicide attempt or assault," according to reports.
66-year-old Clinton-linked pedophile Epstein is currently being held in custody ahead of his trial for child sex trafficking.
He was reportedly said to be found injured in Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center.
RadarOnline is reporting that witnesses say Epstein was "blue in the face" and "sprawled out on the floor" as prison guards rushed to treat him in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
He is said to have lost consciousness, at one point, before he was eventually carried away.
Sources speaking to NBC News say that Epstein was found in his cell in the fetal position with marks on his neck that suggested he may have tried to hang himself.
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According to the Daily Mail, investigators are looking into whether it was a suicide attempt by Epstein or if the billionaire financier was attacked.
Due to him being in federal custody, Epstein is locked up in his cell for about 23 hours each day.
The jail is the same facility where notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán was held during his trial.
Epstein, who was initially held in the general population at the jail, was moved to solitary confinement following threats from fellow inmates, a source told the Daily Beast when the move happened.
It is not clear if Epstein was still be held in solitary confinement when he was injured.
Authorities have already spoken to an accused murderer who is being held at the jail.
That inmate, former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione who is accused of killing four men in a cocaine deal gone wrong, reportedly said he hadn't touched Epstein.
Tartaglione's attorney has since denied reports his client attacked Epstein and insisted that the pair got along well.
Other law enforcement sources have said that Epstein's injuries were not serious and speculated that it could be his way of getting a transfer out of the jail.
It comes after Epstein appealed a federal judge's decision to keep him in the Manhattan jail while he awaits trial.
According to a court notice made public on Tuesday, Epstein will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the judge's July 18 rejection of his request to remain under house arrest in his $77 million mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Epstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls.
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The charges, concerning alleged misconduct from at least 2002 to 2005, were announced more than a decade after Epstein pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges in Florida.
In denying him bail, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan said the government had shown by clear and convincing evidence that Epstein would pose a danger to the community if released pending trial.
"Epstein's alleged excessive attraction to sexual conduct with or in the presence of minor girls - which is said to include his soliciting and receiving massages from young girls and young women perhaps as many as four times a day - appears likely to be uncontrollable," Berman said in a written decision.
Prosecutors accused Epstein of arranging for girls under the age of 18 to perform nude "massages" and other sex acts, and of paying some girls to recruit others.
They also said there was a high risk Epstein would use his wealth to flee.
Epstein estimated his net worth at $559 million, including a private plane and homes in Paris and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Prosecutors believe that Epstein is hiding a large amount of his wealth, however, after finding he had failed to include large amounts of cash, diamonds, and art.
Lawyers for Epstein have said he has had an unblemished record since his 2008 guilty plea, which was part of an agreement negotiated quietly with Alex Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney in Miami.
Epstein served 13 months in jail but was allowed to leave regularly to work.
