The existence of a document believed to be the will of U.S. "billionaire sex offender" Jeffrey Epstein has been confirmed.
On the 1st (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported that a memo Epstein is believed to have written while he was incarcerated at the Manhattan jail in New York in 2019 is kept in a federal court safe.
The memo was reportedly discovered by fellow inmate Nicholas Tartaglione, who shared the same cell.
It said Epstein, who was found in July that year with a cloth around his neck and unconscious, was transferred, and the memo tucked into a book was seen by chance.
Tartaglione said the memo contained the sentence, "It's time to say goodbye."
Tartaglione, who was indicted on murder charges, said he gave the memo to his attorney in case authorities identified him as the person who attacked Epstein.
Tartaglione's attorneys were said to have verified its authenticity through handwriting analysis.
However, the NYT reported that as the memo became entangled in an internal dispute among the attorneys, a federal judge ordered it submitted to the court and sealed in a safe.
Through this process, investigators were unable to obtain the memo, which could have been key evidence related to Epstein's suicide.
According to Tartaglione, the memo includes the sentence, "What am I supposed to do, are you telling me to cry," along with a claim that investigators found nothing despite months of investigation.
Authorities concluded that Epstein's death was a suicide, but as security lapses inside the correctional facility were exposed, conspiracy theories, including suspicions of homicide, also emerged.