US Billionaire business man, Jeffrey Edward Epstein has died after he committed suicide in prison, where he was being held pending trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Jeffrey Edward Epstein who committed suicide in prison, at the Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center was an American financier and convicted sex offender, best known for his alleged sex trafficking of minors and close connections with many of the world’s elite.
Law enforcement officials told newsmen that he was placed on “suicide watch”, but got successful on his second attempt. Epstein who hanged himself overnight and found dangling by 7:30a.m on Saturday August 10, was reportedly transported from the jail to New York Downtown Hospital where he was found to be in cardiac arrest at the time of arrival before being confirmed dead.
The 66-year-old accused of arranging to have sex with girls as young as age 14 in the early 2000s at Epstein’s residences in Manhattan and Florida, has been held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Though he pleaded not guilty to the charges, a judge said he wouldn’t face trial before June 2020.
Epstein had been found in his cell in late June with marks on his neck. At the time, it was not clear whether the wounds were self-inflicted or if there had been an assault, according to the Associated Press.
His request to be released on bail while awaiting trial was rejected by a judge in late July.
He was arrested on July 6 and indicted on charges of having trafficked dozens of underage girls — some as young as 14 — for sex, allegedly paying them hundreds of dollars for massages prior to molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York between 2002 and 2005.
Epstein had pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he would have faced a maximum of sentence of up to 45 years in prison, essentially the rest of his life.
Prosecutors said the evidence against the 66-year-old included a “vast trove” of inappropriate photographs of young girls.
The day before he was found dead, court records pertaining to a defamation lawsuit in 2016 were released. They showed that Epstein refused to answer questions about the allegations that he organized a sex trafficking ring in order to avoid incriminating himself.
Epstein moved in high-profile social circles, including the US President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton among his friends and acquaintances.
