6 Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracy Theories Surrounding His Suspicious Suicide
People aren't buying it.
getty Since the 1990s, rumors circulated that a financier named Jeffrey Epstein had raped young girls who attended his parties. Allegations were also brought forward by a woman identified as Jane Doe, who claimed Epstein hired her to seek out and recruit young women for his parties.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted of running an underage prostitution ring for wealthy elites; however, Alex Acosta, then the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and disgraced Secretary of Labor, gave Epstein a plea deal where he would serve 18 months in the private wing of the Palm Beach County Stockade, of which he only served 13 months, and was allowed to leave jail for up to 12 hours a day for “work release.” At this time, officials had identified 36 girls who had been raped or molested, many of whom were underage.
Fortunately, on July 6, he was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York. On July 23, he was found unconscious in his prison cell and placed on suicide watch. Six days later, he was taken off suicide watch, and a guard would look into his cell every 30 minutes.
But his victims would never get justice because on August 10, Epstein was found dead of an apparent suicide, stunning the nation as well as prison experts, who called the move to take him off suicide watch “shocking.” Said Cameron Lindsay, a former warden who worked at three federal facilities, “For someone this high-profile, with these allegations and this many victims, who has had a suicide attempt in the last few weeks, you can take absolutely no chances. For them to pull him off suicide watch is shocking.”
In such a high-profile case like this, the internet and many individuals weren’t buying “suicide” as his cause of death. Instead, it spawned multiple Jeffrey Esptein conspiracy theories, with the president even taking to Twitter (because, duh) to retweet theories against his former opponent, Hillary Clinton.
So, how did Jeffrey Epstein really die? Here are some theories as to how this pedophile and monster died. Who killed Jeffrey Epstein?
1. The Clintons
For a long time, there have been rumors the Clintons have been behind a number of suspicious deaths, including Vince Foster, a long-time Clinton aide, and Seth Rich, a Democratic National staff member who worked with Hillary in 2017. Foster committed suicide, while Rich was thought to be the victim of robbery.
Still, right-wing fanatics and conspiracy theorists blame Clinton for the deaths of multiple individuals, termed the #clintonbodycount.
Was Bill Clinton also in on it? Flight logs indicate that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s jet at least 26 times, five of which he ditched his Secret Service detail. A young woman who claimed Epstein used her as a sex slave came forward in 2013, but also indicated that Bill Clinton had been at parties.
Just hours after Epstein was found dead, Donald Trump retweeted conspiracies that claim the Clintons had him killed.
This caught the attention of Lynne Patton, regional administrator at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in charge of New York, echoing those allegations and tweeting that Epstein had been “Hillary’d.” Soon after, the hashtag #ClintonBodyCount started trending on Twitter.
2. Donald Trump
Though Trump originally denied claims that he knew Epstein, basic research indicates otherwise. The two were friends from the late 1980s through the 2000s, during the time Epstein was accused of raping young girls at his parties.
Trump then claimed he knew Epstein but “had a falling out with him a long time ago.” Trump also partied at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, while Epstein attended parties at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
Others claim Trump had him murdered because he was being held in a federal facility run by the Department of Justice and how Epstein could have even been taken off suicide watch in the first place. Did Trump have something to do with his death, considering their connection for decades?
3. Someone wealthy who thought Epstein knew too much
Because Epstein had so many connections to wealthy elites and powerful figures, his accusers alleged they were “handed off” to these same individuals. Could it have been someone in this inner circle? His plea deal with Acosta also immunized these co-conspirators. Would the unsealed documents give the unnamed a motive?
There were even predictions from two individuals that Epstein would be assassinated and killed before he even stood trial! Bob Fitrakis, a political activist and author, was an investigator who looked into Epstein and businessman Les Wexner. In a July AMA on Reddit, Fitrakis indicated it was “likely” he would be “killed in prison.” During the 1990s in his initial investigations, Fitrakis received two letters from someone identified as “Sky Hawk,” stating that “Jeffrey Epstein = toe tag,” which Fitrakis interpreted as a death threat.
Another individual, a lawyer who represented Epstein’s victims, Spencer Kuvin, told The Sun that Epstein would be murdered while in prison. After his first suicide attempt, he said:
“I do question whether it was a true suicide attempt. I mean, how do you choke yourself? It doesn’t make any sense. I question whether or not it was a true suicide attempt that Mr. Epstein was involved in in jail or whether or not there may be some powerful people who just don’t want him to talk.
If he goes on trial, everyone he’s been in contact with will ultimately be fair game. There’s no doubt in my mind that no jail will protect you when there’s [sic] powerful people that want to reach you — wherever you are. If he’s going to implicate anyone in power that has the ability to reach in and somehow get to him — his life is definitely in jeopardy...
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Mr. Epstein attempts again to get out on bail and if he does whether he survives between now and the date of his trial. The rich and powerful think they are beyond the law and they end up doing things that are beyond the law. You can see it with the Profumo affair and you can see it here.”
4. The Russians
As we learned from the Mueller Report, there was Russian interference in the 2016 election. There were significant links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and Trump campaign officials.
Joe Scarborough, co-host of the show Morning Joe, tweeted his concerns that the Russians had Epstein killed in an effort to protect Trump.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio alleged that Russian bots were spreading these conspiracy theories to further divide America.
5. Witness protection
For witnesses of crimes who are in mortal danger by the perpetrator, they are sometimes put into witness protection, where they assume a new identity to protect themselves. Could Epstein have also done this? Because Epstein was a billionaire, could he have bought the silence of someone who moved him from his cell?
6. Suicide
On the other hand, could Jeffrey Epstein have actually committed suicide? Asha Rangappa, a lawyer, a lecturer at Yale, and former Associate Dean at Yale Law School, theorized that Epstein bribed guards so he had a chance to kill himself.
According to The Huffington Post, who used date from the DOJ to track suicides in jail, hundreds of individuals end their own lives in jail each year. Since Sandra Bland was found hanged in her cell in 2015, there have been more than 800 deaths, though more are suspected. According to the Department of Justice, “On average, nearly 1,000 people died in jails each year between 2000 and 2013.”
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.