A doctor, Dr. Michael Baden who attended Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy has stated that the circumstances surrounding his death warrant a re-examination.
The deceased child trafficker was discovered lifeless in his prison cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking allegations in 2019.
At that time, the New York Medical Examiner’s Office classified Epstein’s cause of death as a suicide. Dr. Michael Baden expressed his belief that Epstein did not take his own life, but instead succumbed to strangulation.
Epstein cause of death
He remarked, “In my view, his death was more likely the result of strangulation pressure rather than hanging. Although Dr. Baden did not perform the autopsy himself, he was present during the examination, serving as an observer for Epstein’s family.
He stated, “When the autopsy was conducted by the medical examiner, we both concurred that, based on the autopsy report and the information at hand, additional information was necessary to ascertain the cause and manner of death.”
The physician’s concerns have been echoed by Epstein’s legal representatives, who indicated that they too were “not satisfied” with the findings of the medical examiner.
One specific piece of evidence has drawn significant attention, the unveiling of CCTV footage from the evening Epstein passed away.
The video seems to indicate a “missing minute” of footage, prompting inquiries into whether an individual accessed the paedophile’s cell. In a separate video from that same night, an “orange flash” can be observed moving up the stairs adjacent to Epstein’s cell.
Records indicated that authorities were divided regarding the origin of the flash, implying it “possibly” could have been an inmate.
In the initial release of the Epstein files by the US government, a redacted version of Epstein’s post-mortem examination was made available.
The document indicates that the paedophile’s “manner of death” is classified as “pending”, with both the suicide and homicide options left unmarked.
Dr. Baden stated that his professional assessment following the post-mortem in 2019 was deemed “inconclusive”.
Nevertheless, he noted that merely five days after the publication of Epstein’s death certificate, which was pending further investigation into the cause, this determination was “superseded” by Dr. Barbara Sampson, New York’s former chief medical examiner, who concluded that Epstein’s cause of death was suicide by hanging.
Dr. Sampson has firmly defended her ruling regarding the post-mortem and has dismissed any contrary speculation. Dr. Baden informed the publication that she was not present during the post-mortem examination.
Additional questions arose when the announcement of Epstein’s death was dated August 9, 2019, a day prior to his discovery dead in his cell.
The US Department of Justice attributed this discrepancy to an “unfortunate typo”. The official post-mortem report also details three distinct fractures on Epstein’s neck: one on the left hyoid bone, one in the right thyroid cartilage, and one on the left side.
Dr. Baden alleged that in his 50-year career, he had never encountered three neck fractures in any case of suicide by hanging, nor in any post-mortem reports concerning inmate deaths throughout New York state and local jails.
Dr. Baden was also among the first to publicly question the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s cause of death. In August 2019, he remarked that “the evidence points toward homicide rather than suicide”.
