Mystery inmate may have entered Epstein’s prison area on the night he died, investigators say in files that contradict official account
Newly released Epstein files have revealed investigators believe a prisoner appeared to access the area where the notorious paedophile was locked up on the night of his death.
Hidden among the files released last Friday by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the report appears to contradict the official account of what happened to Jeffrey Epstein in his final hours, lending the countless conspiracy theories that have long-plagued the controversial case credence.
Investigators from the FBI and the DoJ’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) flagged that CCTV footage from inside the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York, where Epstein was held before his death, appeared to show an orange flash that may have been ‘an inmate’ walking up to the floor the notorious paedophile was being held on.
Investigators noticed an orange shape moving up a staircase towards his cell on the night of his death.
Officially, Epstein was reported to have died by suicide some time after 6.30am on August 10 2019, when he was found by a corrections officer delivering his breakfast.
After he was found unresponsive in his jail cell, coroners at the time ruled that Epstein had hanged himself.
To this day, no official time of death has been determined, as two of the cameras outside his cell had ‘malfunctioned’ and were investigated by the FBI.
The report, from the OIG, noted that at 10.39pm on August 9 2019, FBI agents observed that ‘a flash of orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs – could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier.’
The inspector general appeared to draw a different conclusion to the FBI, writing of the flash of orange: ‘Inmates are currently on lockdown, it is possible someone is carrying inmate linen or bedding up.’
The analysis from the two investigative bodies contradicts public statements made by at least two top US officials.
Bill Barr, who was the US attorney general during Trump’s first term, claimed in a 2019 interview that he had personally reviewed security footage that confirmed that no one entered the area where Epstein was housed on the night he died.
A shadowy, orange object could be seen moving up the stairs to Epstein’s cell block at the New York prison at around 10.40pm the night before he was found dead
Among the millions of files released by the DoJ were photos from inside Epstein’s cell
Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) was reported to have died by suicide some time after 6.30am on August 10, 2019
And last May, former deputy director of the FBI Dan Bongino told Fox News: ‘There’s video clear as day. He’s the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it.’
He added shortly before the release of the video last August: ‘We are working on cleaning it up to make sure you have an enhanced [version] and we’re going to give the original so you don’t think there were any shenanigans.’
The final report by the Inspector General stated: ‘At approximately 10:39 p.m., an unidentified CO appeared to walk up the L Tier stairway, and then reappeared within view of the camera at 10:41 p.m.’
The nearly 11 hours of video from outside the cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York was put under heavy scrutiny.
Forensic experts told CBS at the time that the orange blob that appears may have actually been another inmate.
Conor McCourt, a retired NYPD sergeant and forensic video expert, told the broadcaster: ‘Based on the limited video, it’s more likely a person in an [orange] uniform.’
The release of the footage also came under fire.
Despite’s Bongino’s 2025 promise to release the unedited version of the video from his cell, the Trump administration came was criticised for allegedly doctoring the supposedly ‘raw’ footage using Adobe Premiere Pro from two clips.
One of the clips was originally four hours and 19 minutes long, but it had nearly two minutes and 53 seconds cut out.
Coroners at the time ruled that Epstein (seen here with what appears to be a young woman) had hanged himself
A photo of the jail cell of accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released as part of the investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York into the death of the sex offender
A piece of fabric used as a noose by Epstein on the night of this death
Epstein was found dead in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre on August 10, 2019
The cut occurs at 11:58:58 pm – which is mere milliseconds before there is a one-minute gap in the tape. The second clip resumes at midnight on the dot.
Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed the gap on a ‘nightly system reset’.
Though the timing may suggest overlap, the metadata shows that the file was modified multiple times on May 23, 2025, over a span of more than three hours, contradicting the notion that this was ‘raw’ footage.
WIRED pressed the DOJ for comment on the edits at the time, and a spokesperson replied in minutes, saying ‘Refer you to the FBI’. The FBI then declined to comment.
It comes after it was revealed that Epstein ordered the burial of two ‘foreign girls’ near his ranch after they were strangled to death during ‘rough, fetish sex’, according to an email released in the latest Epstein files.
The email, sent by a person claiming to have worked for Epstein, also includes links purporting to show the late paedophile engaging in sex with underage girls.
The correspondence, first sent to a man named Eddy Aragon on November 21, 2019, before being forwarded onto the FBI , was released as part of three million documents from the Epstein files published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
In the email, titled ‘Confidential: Jeffrey Epstein’, the person, whose name has been redacted, claimed to have ‘been there and seen it all, as a former staff at the Zorro.’
They alleged the girls were buried on the orders of Epstein and ‘Madam G’, believed to be Ghislaine Maxwell, at Zorro Ranch, the sex offender’s sprawling New Mexico property which has long been reported to have served as one of his private playgrounds for sexual abuse and trafficking.
In the email, they wrote: ‘Edward. This is sensitive, so it will be the first and last email depending on your discretion.
‘You can choose to take it or trash it but this comes from a person that has been there and seen it all, as a former staff at the Zorro.
‘The material below was taken from Jeffrey Epstein home as my insurance in case of future litigation against Epstein. SORRY NO QUESTIONS.
The email, sent on November 21, 2019 to Eddy Aragon, was forwarded to the FBI
The person who sent the email claimed to have been employed at Zorro Ranch (pictured), Epstein’s sprawling estate
They added: ‘What is damning about Jeffrey Epstein is yet to be written. Did you know somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G? Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.’
The sender also included links to videos which claimed to show Epstein having sex with minors, threesomes and sex with underage girls.
They then demanded a payment of one Bitcoin in return for the video and information.
The email was forwarded onto the FBI just three months after Epstein died while being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.
