Content warning: This article contains potentially disturbing references and depictions of attempted suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
The US Department of Justice briefly posted a video online this week that appeared to show Jeffrey Epstein’s death in his Manhattan jail cell, prompting widespread attention before it was confirmed to be fake and removed, according to a Monday report from the New York Post.
The 12-second, computer-generated clip appeared without explanation as part of a broader release of Epstein-related files ordered by Congress in November. The footage showed a white-haired man wearing an orange prison jumpsuit kneeling near a bunk bed inside a jail cell.
A timestamp on the video read 4:29 a.m. on August 10, 2019, about two hours before Epstein was found dead at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility.
The scene appeared to resemble Epstein’s cell, where authorities concluded he died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. However, inconsistencies were later identified, including unrealistic-looking clothing on the floor and a jail cell door that did not match Epstein’s actual cell, the report noted.
Documents included in the same Justice Department release later identified the video as fake. Investigators determined that the clip had circulated online for years, including on 4chan, and had been flagged by a Florida-based conspiracy theorist.
A Trump administration official told the New York Post that the video was bogus and had previously been available on YouTube. The DOJ removed the clip from its website later on Monday.
The video’s brief appearance drew attention because investigators have long maintained that no usable footage exists from inside or directly monitoring Epstein’s cell on the night of his death due to camera malfunctions.
Ongoing conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death
The absence of such footage has been a central factor behind ongoing conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death. Earlier this year, surveillance video from outside Epstein’s cell block was released with a one-minute gap shortly before midnight.
The DOJ said the missing minute resulted from the jail’s camera system recycling and later released additional footage stating that nothing suspicious occurred during that time.
Epstein had previously been placed on suicide watch but was later removed. He was supposed to have a cellmate, but that individual was transferred out of the cell the day before his death. Two guards assigned to monitor Epstein later admitted they had fallen asleep during their shift and falsified records.
A medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide, while an independent autopsy commissioned by his brother suggested a neck fracture associated with strangulation.
Despite these findings, extensive investigations and the release of thousands of documents have not produced evidence of a broader conspiracy, according to the New York Post.
The ongoing release of Epstein-related files, mandated by Congress and signed into law by US President Donald Trump in November, has so far included numerous documents and photographs. The disclosures have not revealed evidence supporting claims of a cover-up related to Epstein’s death.