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Recently released Epstein files have reignited online conspiracy theories about his 2019 death. Claims range from a pre-drafted DOJ statement and disputed jail footage to rumours he’s alive, missing tattoos, and links to Ghislaine Maxwell, none of which are verified.
Ever since the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released another 3.5 million documents in connection with the Epstein files on 30 January, the internet has been constantly fixated on the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, died on 10 August 2019; however, according to the newly released documents, a statement from the 2019 US attorney was reportedly drafted a day before he died. The draft appeared in the recently released files.
With the growing chatter about Epstein's circle and his wrongdoings, there is also a surge in the number of conspiracy theories in connection with Epstein's death, with many even conspiring that the convicted sex offender is still alive.
Here's a look at some of the internet-fuelled conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death:
1. Epstein's death statement was drafted a day before he died
According to reports, as many as 23 documents in the disclosure are labelled as statements from the Southern District of New York's US Attorney's Office. In one of the versions, the date appears to be 9 August 2019, a day before Epstein was reportedly found dead inside his prison cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan. According to the statement, which is attributed to the then-Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S Berman, “Earlier this morning, the Manhattan Correctional Centre confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this Office of engaging in the sex trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter."
2. Did Epstein die by suicide?
While the official records state suicide as the cause of Epstein's death, a recent report by CBS News has once again brought the cause of Epstein's death under scrutiny. With the newly released documents, the Justice Department also released at least 180,000 images and 2,000 videos; one of which shows an orange-coloured figure moving toward the tier housing Epstein's cell at about 10:39 PM on 9 August. While one of the records describes the figure as "possibly an inmate", a DOJ review identifies it as a corrections officer, carrying orange linens.
According to a CBS News report, the figure on the stairs was reportedly more consistent with an inmate or someone wearing a prison uniform, rather than a corrections officer.
3. Is Jeffrey Epstein alive?
Several social media users started sharing an image that featured a bearded man roaming in Israel, resembling Epstein. Social media users were quick to jump to conclusions, with many claiming that he was too important to powerful figures to be "allowed to die". Some others said that owing to his ties with many powerful people in the US, he might have been helped in faking his death and got a safe passage to move out of the US.
Though such claims remain unverified, they have taken over social media in the last few days, and have fuelled the speculations that Epstein's death was staged, with his body possibly replaced with a double.
4. Tattoo on Epstein's left arm missing in hospital photographs
Another conspiracy theory around Epstein involves the presence of a tattoo on his upper left arm. On X, several social media users shared images that reportedly showed a tattoo on Epstein's arm, which was later compared with the official photographs taken after he died in 2019, where the tattoo seems to be missing.
However, there is a slight possibility that Epstein had the tattoo removed, because according to the released files, one document mentions an appointment for tattoo removal for Epstein.
5. ‘Ghislaine knows too much'
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's one-time girlfriend and an associate, is serving a sentence for her involvement in assaulting minor girls. However, several users on the internet claim that Ghislaine Maxwell knew too much, and with her serving the sentence, there is a possibility that Epstein is still alive. These unverified claims state that Maxwell would have been killed too if he were, in fact, dead.
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