Newly released footage shows the moment correctional officers discovered convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein unresponsive in his cell at a New York detention facility, reviving debate over the official ruling that his death was a suicide.
The video, published by the UK newspaper The Telegraph, is the first visual record made public of the discovery since Epstein was found in his cell in August 2019. His death, combined with his extensive ties to powerful public figures, has long fueled speculation and conspiracy theories about the circumstances surrounding his demise.
The footage was released as part of a cache of around three million previously sealed documents made public by the US Department of Justice. The video shows the precise moment an officer discovered Epstein’s body at approximately 6:30 a.m.
According to the footage, a guard is seen approaching a security desk near the isolated unit housing Epstein’s cell. About ten seconds later, the guard heads toward the cell where Epstein was later pronounced dead. More than a minute later, another officer is seen moving back and forth between the desk and the cell tier, before two additional guards arrive and move quickly through the area. Epstein was officially declared dead at 6:39 a.m.
At the time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that Epstein died by suicide, citing supporting evidence and the findings of an autopsy conducted nine days later. Investigators said no one entered the special housing unit between 10:40 p.m. on August 9 and around 6:30 a.m. the following morning.
However, that account has been called into question after the newly released surveillance footage appeared to show an orange-colored figure moving up the stairs toward Epstein’s cell area at 10:39 p.m., shortly before the lockdown period began.
The US Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General and the FBI offered differing interpretations of the unclear image. The FBI described the figure as possibly a prisoner, while the Inspector General reported that a person carrying orange-colored linens or bedding was visible, identifying the individual in its final report as an unidentified correctional officer.
The release of the footage is expected to intensify renewed scrutiny of one of the most controversial deaths in recent US criminal justice history.
Just hours before Epstein killed himself in police custody, surveillance cameras captured an orange figure apparently heading in the direction of his cell
Watch the moment when guards found Epstein's body in his cell ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Tb80fcNL23
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 9, 2026
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