Alleged Epstein Suicide Note Has Been Sealed for Years
This March 28, 2017, photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
A handwritten note that could offer insight into Jeffrey Epstein’s state of mind before his death has remained out of public view in a New York courthouse for nearly seven years.
The message was allegedly discovered by Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, following an apparent suicide attempt in July 2019. According to documents cited by the New York Times, the note was later sealed by a federal judge as part of Tartaglione’s separate murder case and was not reviewed during official investigations into Epstein’s death.
Tartaglione has said the note, written on a torn sheet of yellow legal paper and hidden inside a graphic novel, suggested Epstein believed investigators had examined him for months and “found nothing.” He told podcast host Jessica Reed Kraus last year that the note included the line, “What do you want me to do? Cry about it?” Tartaglione also claimed Epstein drew a smiley face and wrote, “time to say goodbye.”
On Thursday, the New York Times requested that the court unseal the document. The Justice Department has stated it has not seen the note, despite conducting a wide-ranging records search that produced millions of pages related to Epstein.
Among those records is a two-page document labeled “Chronology,” which indicates Tartaglione’s attorneys had the note examined by handwriting experts before it was submitted to the court and sealed. The origin and purpose of that document remain unclear.
Court filings suggest the note became part of a prolonged dispute among Tartaglione’s legal team. His attorney, Bruce Barket, declined to comment, stating that matters related to Epstein and his client are under seal.
Tartaglione, a 58-year-old former police officer, is serving four life sentences in federal prison after being convicted of four murders tied to a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. He is appealing his 2023 conviction and has also petitioned President Trump for a pardon, alleging that prosecutors told Epstein he would be allowed to go free if he implicated Trump.
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