Jeffrey Epstein’s hand-scrawled ‘suicide note’ finally made public – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash)
White Plains, New York – A short, handwritten note allegedly penned by Jeffrey Epstein has been unsealed by a federal judge, ending a five-year period of secrecy that began when it was discovered in the financier’s former jail cell. The document, found by Epstein’s cellmate shortly before the August 2019 death that was ruled a suicide, contains blunt and fragmented messages that have now entered the public record for the first time. Its release follows a petition by The New York Times and underscores ongoing questions about the final weeks of Epstein’s life in federal custody.
The Note’s Content and Its Discovery
The note itself is brief and written on a torn sheet of yellow legal paper. Its most striking lines read: “They investigated me for a month – found nothing!!!” followed by “It is a treat to be able to choose the time to say goodbye.” The message continues with “Watcha want me to do – Bust out cryin!!” and concludes with the underlined words “NO FUN” and “NOT WORTH IT!!” Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer serving a life sentence for murder, said he found the paper tucked inside a graphic novel in the cell Epstein had occupied. He described opening the book to read and discovering the note there. Tartaglione’s lawyers later had handwriting experts review the document to confirm it was not his own writing.
Why the Note Stayed Sealed for Years
The document remained locked away as part of a separate legal dispute involving Tartaglione. It only surfaced publicly after U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains ordered its release last week. The judge acted on the newspaper’s request to unseal materials from the cellmate’s case. Until Tartaglione mentioned the note during a podcast appearance last year, few outside the courtroom even knew it existed. Tartaglione recounted the discovery in a July 2025 phone interview from a federal prison in California. He said Epstein had been moved to a different section of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in the month before his death and had briefly been placed on suicide watch.
Epstein’s Final Days in Custody
Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell on July 23, 2019, with a strip of bedsheet around his neck. He died weeks later on August 10. Official reports later showed that guards failed to perform required checks that night and that the unit’s surveillance cameras were not functioning. One guard, Tova Noel, was later reported to have slept on duty and searched online for updates about Epstein less than an hour before the incident. Epstein’s brother Mark has maintained that the death was not a suicide. An expert he consulted after the autopsy concluded the injuries were more consistent with homicidal strangulation. These details have kept public interest high even years later.
What the Release Means Now
The note adds one more piece to the documented record of Epstein’s time in jail, though it does not resolve the larger questions surrounding his death. Its blunt tone and the circumstances of its discovery continue to draw attention from those who have followed the case since 2019. The document’s emergence after half a decade in a courthouse vault illustrates how even small items from high-profile cases can remain hidden until a court decides otherwise. For many observers, the note’s final underlined words stand out as a stark reminder of the events that unfolded inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center that summer.