A US federal judge has ordered the release of a handwritten document described as a suicide note purportedly written by disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before an earlier apparent suicide attempt in prison.
The note, which was allegedly discovered hidden inside a book in Epstein’s jail cell in July 2019, was unsealed this week by US District Judge Kenneth Karas following a request from The New York Times.
Epstein was being held at a Manhattan jail awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges when he died on 10 August 2019. His death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York Medical Examiner’s Office, a conclusion later supported by the US Justice Department.
The newly released document was submitted during the criminal case of Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer and convicted quadruple murderer who is currently serving four consecutive life sentences.
Judge Karas said the document qualified as a judicial record and that no legal basis existed to keep it sealed.
“No party has identified any competing consideration that would justify sealing the note,” the judge ruled.
However, the judge stressed that the court was not verifying whether Epstein actually wrote the note, nor assessing how it came into Tartaglione’s possession.
A suicide note was purportedly left behind in Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell before his first attempt to kill himself. US District Court, NYC
The one-page handwritten note contains a series of cryptic statements and references to investigations into Epstein.
“They investigated me for month -- found nothing!!!” one line reads.
Another line says: “Whatcha want me to do -- burst out crying! NO FUN -- NOT WORTH IT!!”
The note also reportedly includes the phrase: “It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye.”
One line remains partially illegible due to unclear handwriting.
According to public accounts from Tartaglione, the note was found after Epstein survived what authorities described at the time as an apparent suicide attempt in July 2019 — several weeks before his death.
At the time, Epstein reportedly denied being suicidal and allegedly told a psychologist: “I have no interest in killing myself.”
The note first gained renewed attention last week after The New York Times reported on its existence, noting that it had apparently never been reviewed by federal investigators and was absent from millions of Epstein-related files previously released by the Justice Department.
Epstein had first pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor, serving a controversial jail sentence as part of a plea agreement that later drew widespread criticism.
He was arrested again in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, accused of recruiting and abusing underage girls in New York and Florida.
His death in custody has continued to fuel intense public scrutiny and conspiracy theories in the years since, although official investigations by both the FBI and the Justice Department concluded there was no evidence of foul play.
