The New York Times reported Thursday that a suicide note allegedly written by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been sealed in a New York courthouse for years, leaving investigators without what could be a crucial piece of evidence.
According to the newspaper, the note was discovered by Epstein’s cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer serving four life sentences for a 1996 quadruple homicide. Tartaglione said he found the paper in July 2019, weeks after Epstein was found unconscious with a strip of cloth around his neck at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. The financier survived that incident but died on August 10, 2019, after allegedly hanging himself with bedsheets.
Tartaglione told the Times that the note was written on a yellow sheet torn from a legal pad and hidden inside a graphic novel that Epstein frequently read. The handwritten message, he claimed, said investigators “found nothing” on Epstein despite months of scrutiny and concluded with the words, “What do you want me to do, bust out crying? Time to say goodbye.” Tartaglione said he turned the note over to his attorneys, arguing it could counter Epstein’s claim that he had been attacked by his cellmate after the July incident.
The paper said a federal judge later sealed the note as part of Tartaglione’s criminal case, and it remains locked away in a Manhattan courthouse. As a result, the Department of Justice’s investigators into Epstein’s death have not reviewed the document. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the agency has not seen the note and that it was not included in the large cache of Epstein files released earlier this year.
The Times filed a petition on Thursday requesting that the judge unseal the note, arguing that it may contain information relevant to the ongoing inquiries into Epstein’s death and the broader investigation of his alleged network. The request underscores continuing debate over whether Epstein’s suicide was self‑inflicted or the result of foul play intended to protect powerful individuals alleged to have been connected to him.
If unsealed, the note could provide new insight into Epstein’s state of mind in the weeks before his death and potentially affect legal strategies in related cases. Until a decision is made, the document remains inaccessible to both prosecutors and the public.
