Autopsy report, broken neck still leave questions in Epstein case -forensic expert

Record ID: 1427287

  • Title: Autopsy report, broken neck still leave questions in Epstein case -forensic expert
  • Date: 15th August 2019
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 15, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 10, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEDICAL EXAMINER'S VAN PARKED OUTSIDE BUILDING IN MANHATTAN MEDICAL EXAMINER'S VAN PARKED ON STREET OUTSIDE HOSPITAL WHERE EPSTEIN WAS TAKEN AFTER HE WAS FOUND IN CELL MAIN ENTRANCE TO HOSPITAL VAN PARKED AT LOADING DOCK WITH WHITE PRIVACY CURTAIN PLACED ALONGSIDE SEVERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WALKING AWAY FROM A NYC MEDICAL EXAMINER'S BLACK SUV WHICH IS LABELED FORENSICS OPERATIONS, BLACK SUV DRIVING AWAY MEDICAL EXAMINER VAN PULLING AWAY FROM HOSPITAL
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2019 21:02
  • Keywords: Jeffrey Epstein autopsy forensic science pathologist cricoid Hyoid
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
  • Reuters ID: LVA003ASBY43R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An autopsy of the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in an apparent suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, found his neck had been broken in several places, according to two law enforcement sources.
    Such injuries can occur to people who hang themselves or who are strangled.
    Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in New York City on Saturday (August 10). The circumstances of the multi-millionaire's death are under investigation, and it was unclear when a report of the autopsy would be made public.
    A representative of the New York Medical Examiner's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    One of the two law enforcement sources familiar with the Epstein case said there was no evidence or suggestion of foul play, but cautioned the investigation was still at an early stage.
    Experts consulted by Reuters said the injuries may not definitively signal a manner of death.
    "Based on the autopsy, based on what we've learned surrounding his history, based upon what we've read about the damage to the neck, the hyoid bone, it's all consistent with suicide," Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky of John Jay College of Criminal Justice told Reuters while referring to the longhorn-shaped bone in the midneck region. "It's a fragile structure. So hanging will break the hyoid bone not all the time, but roughly 20-25% of the time you will see a fractured hyoid bone. Does it necessarily point to a suicide? No. Does it point to a homicide? No, but it gives the medical examiner a little more information about exactly what the manner of death is."
    Dr. Zhongxue Hua, the Bergen County medical examiner in New Jersey, said a neck fracture was atypical in a suicide, but warned not to jump to conclusions.
    "It's unusual to have a neck fracture," Hua said. "But the first question to address is when did it occur."
    If Epstein's neck fracture was fresh, Hua said, then "at a minimum, it's a very unusual suicide."
    Epstein, 66, who once counted Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former President Bill Clinton as friends, was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
    A source told Reuters previously that he was found hanging by the neck.
    Epstein had pleaded not guilty in July to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005. Prosecutors said he recruited and paid girls to give him massages, which became sexual in nature.
    (Production by: Andrew Hofstetter, Dan Fastenberg.)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register