The New York Times has petitioned a federal judge to unseal an alleged suicide note written by Jeffrey Epstein, which his former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, claims to have found in July 2019. The note, reportedly written on a yellow legal pad and tucked inside a graphic novel, was discovered after Epstein was found unresponsive in his jail cell with red marks on his neck. Tartaglione, a convicted quadruple murderer, told the Times that the note read: “What do you want me to do, bust out crying? Time to say goodbye.”
The note is currently sealed in Tartaglione’s criminal case file. The Justice Department has stated it has never seen the note, and it is unclear whether it was ever authenticated. The Times argues that the note should be unsealed because Tartaglione has publicly discussed it, and a two-page chronology document about the note was included in recent Justice Department disclosures.
Epstein was placed on suicide watch after the incident but was later found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019. The Bureau of Prisons incident report described Epstein as lying in the fetal position with a homemade noose around his neck. Initially, Epstein alleged that Tartaglione had attacked him, but he later recanted. Tartaglione has denied any involvement in Epstein’s death.
The note’s authenticity remains a subject of debate. Tartaglione claimed he tried to retrieve the note from his jail cell but was prevented by a prison guard. He later gave the note to another lawyer, who attempted to authenticate it. The note was eventually authenticated in late 2019 or early 2020, according to the two-page report. The document is now kept in a vault at a New York courthouse.