The cause of death of the infamous convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be investigated, said the doctor who has observed the post-mortem examination of the British financier.
The cause of death of the infamous convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein should be investigated, said the doctor who has observed the post-mortem examination of the British financier. Dr Michael Baden, the forensic pathologist, renewed his doubts over the ruling that Epstein
died by suicide in a New York Jail cell in 2019.
In an interview with British news outlet The Telegraph, Dr Baden said that he was unconvinced by the findings of the New York Medical Examiner’s Office and claimed that the disgraced financier was not hanged. “My opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging,” the pathologist, who was hired by Epstein’s estate, told The Telegraph.
“Given all the information now available, further investigation into the cause and manner of death is warranted,” he said. It is pertinent to note that while Dr Baden did not carry out the post-mortem, he was present during the examination process. He was acting as an observer on behalf of Epstein’s family.
“At the time that the autopsy was done by the medical examiner, we both agreed that, based on the autopsy report and the information available, more information was needed to determine the cause and manner of death,” Dr Baden said.
The doctor calls for further examination
In light of the release of the latest trenches of Epstein Files, Dr Baden insisted that further examination into the paedophile’s cause of death should be undertaken. In December last year, a redacted version of Epstein’s post-mortem examination was released as part of the Justice Department’s first release of the so-called Epstein files.
In that, the child sex offender’s “manner of death” is marked as “pending”. Apart from this, boxes for both suicide and homicide are left blank. While speaking to The Telegraph, Dr Baden made it clear that his professional findings following the post-mortem on Aug 11 2019, were “inconclusive”.
However, he claimed that five days after Epstein’s death certificate was published pending further investigation of the cause, this decision was “superseded” by Dr Barbara Sampson, New York’s then-chief medical examiner. Dr Baden pointed out that while Dr Sampson concluded that Epstein’s death was by hanging, the chief medical examiner was not present during the post-mortem examination process.
She has publicly dismissed his claims that the evidence suggested strangulation, at the time saying she stands “firmly” behind her finding. Meanwhile, Epstein’s lawyers argued that Dr Baden’s concerns were consistent with their own and that they were “not satisfied” with the medical examiner’s findings.
“I have not seen any evidence of further study, nothing that indicated further investigation into the cause of death,” Dr Baden told The Telegraph, adding that Dr Sampson’s verdict was just “accepted”. “The diagnosis was made several days after the first cause of death given,” he said.
Three neck fractures – Main cause of contention
It is important to note that the official post-mortem report lists three distinct fractures on Epstein’s neck: one on the left hyoid and one in the thyroid cartilage on the right side, and one on the left. Dr Baden insisted that he has never seen a hanging by suicide with three neck fractures in 50 years of his career.
“Even one fracture, we have to investigate the possibility of a homicide. Two definitely warrant a full investigation,” he said. “Findings in textbooks never see those fractures, and neither have I.” However, Dr Sampson disagreed with the argument, stating that fractures of the hyoid bone and the cartilage are seen in both suicides and homicides.
Interestingly, Dr Baden, who is 91, has worked on a number of high-profile cases. In 1995, he gave evidence during the trial of OJ Simpson, suggesting he was innocent. The football star was accused of brutally murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
However, Dr Baden later disavowed the claims he made. Simpson was acquitted at trial but was later found liable for the pair’s deaths following a wrongful death suit. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families. Dr Baden also worked on the investigations into the assassinations of both
Martin Luther King Jr and
John F Kennedy. Not only this, but in 2020, he was hired by the family of George Floyd to perform a post-mortem exam.
Even at that time, his findings conflicted with the official report, suggesting Floyd did not have any underlying health problems that contributed to his death by suffocation after a police officer knelt on his neck.
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