Mystery over orange shape seen on surveillance footage near Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell the night before his death
Earlier this month, CCTV footage taken outside Epstein's cell was released six years after the notorious paedophile was found dead.
Around 11 hours of footage taken from inside the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City on August 9 and 10 2019 was publicly revealed for the first time.
Following his arrest on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, he was found unresponsive in his cell early in the morning of August 10 and was later declared dead in hospital.
Coroners at the time ruled he had committed suicide by hanging, and a recent FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation into his death concluded the same.
But a new analysis carried out by CBS News has raised questions over whether this assessment was correct.
In the 11-hour clip, which is already facing accusations of being doctored, 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.
While federal investigators initially concluded that the blob, which can only be seen briefly, was a corrections officer 'carrying linen or inmate clothing', forensic experts told CBS that it may have actually been another inmate.
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
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.'
Trump's administration is already under fire 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.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man charged with killing a top Minnesota House Democrat is expected to plead not guilty
The man charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is expected to plead not guilty when he's arraigned in federal court on Thursday, his attorney said. Vance Boelter, 58, of Green Isle, Minnesota, was indicted July 15 on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty, though prosecutors say that decision is several months away. As they announced the indictment, prosecutors released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the June 14 shootings of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. However, the letter doesn't make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who survived. Boelter's federal defender, Manny Atwal, said at the time that the weighty charges did not come as a surprise, but she has not commented on the substance of the allegations or any defense strategies. The hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster will also serve as a case management conference. She plans to issue a revised schedule with deadlines afterward, potentially including a trial date. Prosecutors have moved to designate the proceedings as a 'complex case' so that standard speedy trial requirements won't apply, saying both sides will need plenty of time to review the voluminous evidence. 'The investigation of this case arose out of the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history," they wrote. "Accordingly, the discovery to be produced by the government will include a substantial amount of investigative material and reports from more than a dozen different law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.' They said the evidence will include potentially thousands of hours of video footage, tens of thousands of pages of responses to dozens of grand jury subpoenas, and data from numerous electronic devices seized during the investigation. Boelter's motivations remain murky. Friends have described him as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views who had been struggling to find work. Authorities said Boelter made long lists of politicians in Minnesota and other states — all or mostly Democrats. In a series of cryptic notes to The New York Times through his jail's electronic messaging service, Boelter suggested his actions were partly rooted in the Christian commandment to love one's neighbor. 'Because I love my neighbors prior to June 14th I conducted a 2 year long undercover investigation,' he wrote. In messages published earlier by the New York Post, Boelter insisted the shootings had nothing to do with his opposition to abortion or his support for President Donald Trump, but he declined to elaborate. 'There is little evidence showing why he turned to political violence and extremism,' the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, told reporters last month. He also reiterated that prosecutors consider Hortman's killing a 'political assassination.' Prosecutors say Boelter was disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car early June 14 when he went to the Hoffmans' home in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin. He shot the senator nine times, and his wife eight times, officials said. Boelter later went to the Hortmans' home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed both of them, authorities said. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized. Boelter surrendered the next night.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
White House plans increase in law enforcement as Trump eyes D.C. takeover
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he may use the National Guard to police the streets of Washington, D.C., and a White House official said federal law enforcement would increase its presence in the city this week. The threat - and the move to follow through on it - is the latest step by Trump and his administration toward taking over running the city that serves as the seat of the U.S. government. "We have a capital that's very unsafe," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We have to run D.C. This has to be the best-run place in the country." A White House official told Reuters that operational details about the increased federal presence were still being finalized. CNN reported that officers from the FBI, National Guard, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as agents from the Department of Homeland Security would be involved starting Thursday. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the city had been "plagued by petty and violent crime for far too long" and Trump was committed to making it safe. Trump, who has threatened a federal takeover of the city multiple times, escalated those threats after a young staffer who was part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted over the weekend. Musk, the billionaire former adviser to Trump who once spearheaded the DOGE effort, said the man was beaten and received a concussion. "It is time to federalize DC," he wrote. Asked if he was considering taking over the D.C. police, Trump responded affirmatively. "We just almost lost a young man, beautiful handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him," Trump said. The president posted a picture of the victim, Edward Coristine, known by the nickname "Big Balls," on social media, with blood on his face, arms, torso and legs. "We're going to beautify the city. We're going to make it beautiful. And what a shame, the rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else. We're not going to let it. And that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too," Trump said. A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment. Violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 was down by 26% in D.C. compared to last year while overall crime was down about 7%, according to records on the police department's website. Overall crime was down 15% in 2024, compared to 2023, the website showed. Trump has long complained about crime in the city. He signed an executive order in March aimed at increasing law enforcement in Washington. The District of Columbia was established in 1790 with land from neighboring Virginia and Maryland. Congress has control of its budget, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council, under a law known as the Home Rule Act. For Trump to take over the city, Congress likely would have to pass a law revoking that act, which Trump would have to sign. The president said on Wednesday that lawyers were already looking at overturning the Home Rule Act.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Diddy plotting major career comeback after prison release, rapper's lawyer claims… amid Trump pardon talks
Sean ' Diddy ' Combs is aiming to headline Madison Square Garden. Marc Agnifilo, the head lawyer for the 55-year-old music mogul, told CBS Mornings that the I'll Be Missing You vocalist has his sights set on the New York City staple for a comeback concert. 'He's going to be back at Madison Square Garden - and I said I'll be there,' the lawyer told the network's Jericka Duncan in a segment slated to air Thursday. Agnifilo told Duncan that Diddy told him he wants to 'get back with his mother, and the people who love him and miss him.' Duncan asked the attorney, 'So he's talked to you about getting back into music?' Agnifilo replied, 'No - honestly, he has not - OK, one thing he said, he said' was that he's 'going to be back in Madison Square Garden. Duncan asked 'Doing what?' to which Agnifilo responded, 'I guess being on stage, you know?' Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Combs for further comment on the story. The chatter about the rapper's future comes amid news his legal team has been in contact with President Donald Trump's administration about a potential pardon. Diddy was cleared on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in his criminal trial in New York City last month. The Satisfy You artist was convicted in connection with federal prostitution violations - and has been denied bail - but has a hearing on slate for October. Diddy has been held in a New York City jail since he was arrested last fall in connection with the federal charges. Under the counts he was convicted of - transportation to engage in prostitution - Diddy faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in custody. He could have been held for life had he been convicted on the other charges. Attorneys for the hip-hop stalwart said Diddy should be allowed a bond of $1 million to go free until sentencing. Prosecutors maintained Diddy was still was a flight risk in the wake of th verdicts.
