A federal judge in New York City has unsealed a suicide note allegedly written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his death, which had been kept from the public eye for years. The U.S. District Court made the document public on Wednesday.
The handwritten note stated, “They investigated me for months — FOUND NOTHING!!!” and mentioned facing charges dating back years. It also expressed a sense of control in choosing the time to bid farewell and dismissed the idea of showing emotion, stating, “Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!! NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!”
The authenticity of the note could not be independently confirmed by CBC News. The letter was not part of the original collection of documents related to the Epstein case but was referenced in a timeline explaining how it ended up with Epstein’s cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione.
Tartaglione reported finding the note after Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell following a suspected suicide attempt in July 2019. Epstein, aged 66, was found deceased at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York the following month while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The note later became central to a legal dispute involving Tartaglione and his defense lawyers over a conflict of interest. Initially sealed in May 2021 to preserve attorney-client privilege, the document was released on Wednesday following a successful petition by the New York Times to make it public.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas sided with the newspaper’s argument that the privilege no longer applied as Tartaglione had publicly discussed the contents of the note, thereby waiving the privilege. The U.S. Department of Justice also concurred that Tartaglione had forfeited the privilege by discussing the note in the public domain.
Tartaglione, who briefly shared a cell with Epstein before being convicted and sentenced to four life terms for murder in 2023, has since filed an appeal.
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, resources such as the Suicide Crisis Helpline and Kids Help Phone are available for support.
