A former corrections officer who said she was the last to see infamous sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein alive told House lawmakers Monday that she does not believe he was murdered.
Tova Noel, who was fired from her job as a guard in New York City’s Metropolitan Corrections Center after Epstein’s Aug. 10, 2019, death, gave her opinion in a closed-door interview with House lawmakers and staff from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
A source familiar with her testimony said Ms. Noel told lawmakers she believed Epstein killed himself “because there was no one else in his cell.”
Epstein’s jail cell death was determined to be a suicide by the Justice Department.
But his demise before facing federal sex trafficking charges spawned rampant conspiracy theories that he was killed to prevent him from exposing powerful men.
Epstein palled around with some of the wealthiest and most influential men in the world, among them former President Bill Clinton, President Trump, Bill Gates and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince.
Ms. Noel’s own actions fueled suspicions about Epstein’s death. She made a $5,000 cash deposit 10 days before he died and, while on duty at the corrections center, searched the internet for “latest on Epstein in Jail,” about 40 minutes before he was discovered dead in his cell.
Lawmakers said Ms. Noel told them Monday her financial transfers during that time “had nothing to do with Epstein.”
She also told lawmakers she believed she was fired unfairly, and if the suicide had been anyone other than Epstein, she’d still have her job.
“The overall narrative that seemed to come out of this interview, and other information, is that the prison was poorly run, that the staff who were working there that night were working long shifts and overtime, and the protocols were not followed,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico Democrat.
Lawmakers who sat in on the transcribed interview said they learned Epstein was given extra sheets, a sleep apnea machine and medications, which they said should not have been provided because Epstein had attempted previously to kill himself.
“I fully believe he committed suicide, but how he was able to commit suicide, there are open questions about that. Why was he given special treatment, like extra linens that he used to hang himself?” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Virginia Democrat. “Those are the questions we need to answer.”
