New York [USA]: Jailed multi-millionaire financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has died in “an apparent suicide” at a prison in New York, according to two law enforcement sources on Saturday.
66-year-old Epstein, who was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14 years old, was found unresponsive in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Centre at around 6:30 am (ET), CNN reported citing the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Epstein was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the bureau said in a statement while calling the reason of death as “an apparent suicide”.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is probing the incident.
A federal official told CNN that no foul play is suspected in his death.
According to a law enforcement source, Epstein hanged himself.
Last month, Epstein was placed on a suicide watch after he was found on July 23 in his Manhattan jail cell with marks on his neck. The multi-millionaire financier alleged that he was beaten up and called a child predator, according to sources.
Epstein had been behind the bars since July when he pleaded not guilty to charges by New York federal prosecutors after an indictment accused him of running a sex racket of teenage girls. A judge had rejected a bail request from him in that month.
Prosecutors had unsealed an indictment accusing Epstein of running a prostitution racket with the underage girls at his Upper East Side residence and his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.
In 2007, Epstein faced similar accusations in Florida but he signed a plea agreement with Miami prosecutors allowing him to plead guilty to lesser state sex trafficking charges and avoiding federal charges.
On Friday, new details of sexual abuse claims against Epstein and several associates surfaced during the unsealing of court documents in a New York federal court.