US Judge Unseals Purported Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Note from Month Before Death

A US judge ordered the release of a document said to be a suicide note written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a month before his death.

The handwritten note, unsealed on Wednesday, refers to a months-long investigation that "found nothing" and states "it is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye."

Epstein's former cellmate said he found the note tucked into a book after Epstein tried to kill himself in July 2019. Epstein was found dead in his cell a month later.

The BBC has not verified that Epstein wrote the note, and US authorities have not commented.

His death, ruled a suicide by authorities, occurred as he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.

The purported note had been sealed as part of criminal proceedings against the former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione. Tartaglione, a former police officer convicted of quadruple murder, shared the cell with Epstein while awaiting trial for four murders.

Tartaglione faced accusations from Epstein of attacking him, which he denied. He first mentioned the note last year on a podcast.

A scan of the note in the unsealed court document, released on Tuesday, shows the handwritten line "They investigated me for month - FOUND NOTHING!!!" It also mentions years-old charges.

The note continues, "It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye." It adds, "Watcha want me to do - Bust out cryin!! NO FUN - NOT WORTH IT."

The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.

A DOJ spokesperson told NBC News earlier that the department had not seen the note. The spokesperson pointed to the DOJ's exhaustive effort in collecting and releasing millions of other Epstein-related files in recent months.

The note came with a May 2021 letter to the court from John A Wieder, then Tartaglione's lawyer. Wieder called it "the original document" that federal Judge Kenneth M Karas had ordered provided to the court.

The New York Times petitioned Judge Karas in White Plains, New York, to unseal the note, saying there was no need to keep it secret. The newspaper also sought other documents that the judge did not address.

Federal prosecutors supported releasing the note. They said no compelling interest remained for sealing it and that Tartaglione's public statements about the note waived any need for secrecy.

In his Wednesday order, Judge Karas ruled the note subject to a presumption of public access. "The Court comfortably concludes that public access to the Note promotes 'a measure of accountability' as well as ensures that the public will 'have confidence in the administration of justice,'" Karas wrote.