Epstein’s Alleged Jail Suicide Note Sealed in Cellmate’s Court File
A purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein is locked in Nicholas Tartaglione’s sealed court file and a judge has ordered responses to a petition to unseal it by May 4.
Washington ExaminerApparent Epstein suicide note found by cellmate in 2019
ABC NewsEx-cellmate says he found suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein following earlier suicide attempt
NewsweekJeffrey Epstein cellmate reveals details of possible suicide note
MEDIAiteJeffrey Epstein's Possible Suicide Note Reportedly Hidden
Overview
A federal judge ordered parties to respond by May 4 to a petition to unseal a purported Jeffrey Epstein suicide note that is locked in Nicholas Tartaglione’s criminal case.
The note was allegedly found by Tartaglione in July 2019 after Epstein was found unresponsive on July 23, 2019 and weeks before Epstein died in custody on August 10, 2019.
Tartaglione said the note was ripped from a yellow legal pad, tucked into a book, and included the line "What do you want me to do, bust out crying? Time to say goodbye."
A two-page Justice Department chronology referenced the note and said Tartaglione’s lawyer authenticated it in January 2020, while federal prosecutors said they were unaware of any suicide note.
Tartaglione was convicted in 2023 and sentenced in 2024 to four consecutive life terms, his appeal is pending before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the note remains sealed in a New York courthouse.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this coverage around secrecy and lost evidence, using loaded terms like "kept secret" and "locked up" and foregrounding the judge's sealing decision and a cellmate's discovery. They emphasize investigators' lack of a "key piece of evidence" while providing limited context about legal reasons for sealing, steering readers toward suspicion.