If you’ve been around the internet for the last couple of months, you know about the memes centered around Jeffrey Epstein’s death. In addition to this odd scenario people have been going on live national television interviews and ending their unrelated interviews by saying “Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
A man even tried to register for a spot on the New Hampshire primary ballot as Rod “Epstein didn’t kill himself” Weber.
Even Ricky Gervais, a well-known celebrity ended his 2020 Golden Globes speech by saying that very line.
Based on these moments and information that has been released over the last few months, one can’t help but wonder why there is so much hype around this Epstein guy and his death.
In July 2019, Epstein, a 66 year-old financier and multi-millionaire, was arrested on sex trafficking charges which included charges that he trafficked minors as young as 14. These charges were a huge deal given the wealth and power Epstein held. However, when he was found dead in his cell by apparent suicide, it left many questioning whether the death was really a cover up or an actual suicide.
Epstein’s inner circle included many world leaders and high-profile individuals from the business and entertainment fields as, well as royals. His contacts included former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, President Donald Trump, and former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak. Some of these individuals, as well as other powerful billionaires, had been spotted leaving his private estates many times.
The justice department report states that on the night of his suicide, the two cameras within the view of his cell malfunctioned, and the guards fell asleep and missed what was supposed to be a scheduled check on him every 30 minutes. The guards are now facing charges but are out on bail. In addition, three weeks prior to his death, Epstein was found unconscious in his cell and reported that his cellmate had tried to kill him. Now, we can dismiss this whole case by blaming the incompetence of the jail system but it’s only reasonable to assume that there is something else going on.
This wasn’t the first time Jeffrey Epstein was convicted, in 2008 he plead guilty to a state charge of soliciting prostitution with girls under 18. According to business insider, “An investigation by the Miami Herald revealed that Acosta, then a US attorney, had enough evidence against Epstein to request a life sentence. Instead, he reportedly met with one of Epstein’s lawyers, who happened to be a former colleague of Acosta, “and as a part of arranged plea deal, he was sentenced only to 18 months in prison, which much of it was spent on work release, and was forced to register as a sex offender. After serving 13 months of his sentence, he was out on probation, and even though he was on house arrest at the time, he was always traveling back and forth from his private island, Florida, and New York
Although, his death was ruled a suicide by the New York City Medical Examiner, private pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother, Dr. Michael Baden, said his autopsy “points to homicide.” Epstein had three fractures in the hyoid bone, the thyroid cartilage, which is very unusual for suicide.
Is it hype? No. It could be true that Epstein did actually kill himself, but it’s also perfectly fine to have some skepticism towards his death, especially since there’s so many questions around the whole case.
Epstein was a wealthy and powerful financier, who held information that could potentially put many powerful men behind bars, so the possibility that he was killed in order to be silenced isn’t far-fetched.