Alleged Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Note Released: ‘NOT WORTH IT’

New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File

A federal judge released a suicide note allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein after years of the document remaining under seal as part of his cellmate’s criminal case.

Epstein’s cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, claims he found the note after the sex trafficker’s July 2019 suicide attempt. Epstein survived that attempt after being found unresponsive with a cloth wrapped around his neck. He died weeks later by suicide, officials say.

“They investigated me for months — FOUND NOTHING!!!” the note reads. “So 16 year old charges resurrected. It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.”

“Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!!” the note continues. “NO FUN– NOT WORTH IT!!”

The words “NO FUN” are underlined.

The note has not been authenticated.

Southern District of New York

Tartaglione, a former police officer imprisoned over a quadruple murder case, said he found the note inside a graphic novel after Epstein was removed from the cell due to his suicide attempt.

“I opened the book to read and there it was,” Mr. Tartaglione said, further claiming the note was written on a yellow legal pad.

The note was made public on Wednesday by Judge Kenneth M. Karas of the Southern District of New York after The New York Times petitioned the court to unseal the note. Epstein’s alleged note was placed under seal to protect attorney-client privilege, according to the filings, after the document became part of a legal conflict between Tartaglione’s legal team.

A spokeswoman from the Justice Department told The Times that the department had not seen the note, and an investigation conducted by the outlet found no copy of the document in the millions of documents relating to Epstein released by the agency.

“The search did turn up a cryptic two-page chronology that described how the note became caught up in Mr. Tartaglione’s complicated legal case,” The Times report notes. “The chronology said that Mr. Tartaglione’s lawyers authenticated the note, though it did not explain how.”

Epstein told jail officials after his apparent July attempt that the injuries he sustained were actually due to Tartaglione. Epstein claimed Tartaglione attacked him, telling officials he was not suicidal and had not tried to take his own life. Tartaglione has denied all allegations of assaulting Epstein. The financier later said that he “never had any issues” with Tartaglione, who claims he gave the note to his lawyers in case Epstein again alleged that Tartaglione had harmed him.

An evaluation conducted by the Bureau of Prisons in July notes that Epstein “adamantly denied any suicidal ideation, intention or plan,” describing him as showing “no need for regular mental health intervention.” It describes Epstein as believing he will be released from jail on bail.

The document further states that “a suicide watch is not warranted at this time.” In another document from July 24, produced after a 31-hour suicide watch in response to Epstein’s alleged attempt to take his own life the day before, the psychologist quotes Epstein as saying “it would be crazy” to take his life, adding, “I would not do that to myself.” The psychological watch was removed.

Epstein was found dead at 6:30 at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on the morning of August 10, 2019, after hanging himself in his cell. He was reportedly supposed to be under watch due to his prior attempt, but correctional officers assigned to complete checks on him throughout the night failed to do so.

Tartaglione was convicted in 2023 and is now serving four life sentences while appealing his conviction.

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