US judge releases purported Jeffrey Epstein suicide note: ‘A Treat to Say Goodbye’

WEB DESK: A handwritten note, allegedly penned by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein before his death, has been made public by a US federal judge.

The document, which includes the line, “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye,” was released following a legal request by The New York Times.

The note was reportedly discovered by Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione a convicted murderer and former police officer who shared a cell with the accused sex trafficker at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan during July 2019.

While the document adds a new layer to the narrative surrounding Epstein’s final weeks, its authenticity remains unverified by the court.

The discovery in the shared cell

According to court filings, the note was scrawled on a yellow legal pad and was purportedly found tucked inside a book within the cell Epstein shared with Tartaglione.

The timing of the note’s origin is significant; it surfaced shortly after an incident in July 2019 where Epstein was found with marks on his neck an event authorities later classified as an apparent suicide attempt.

Epstein eventually died in August 2019 in a separate incident that was officially ruled a suicide.

In the scrawled text, the author expresses defiance against the legal pressure mounting at the time, writing: “They investigated me for month – Found NOTHING!!! So 15 year old charges resulted.” The passage concludes with a blunt dismissal of his predicament: “Watcha want me to do – Burst out cryin!! NO FUN – NOT WORTH IT!!”

Judicial ruling and authenticity questions

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered the unsealing of the document, ruling that it qualified as a “judicial document” because it was submitted in connection with Tartaglione’s own criminal proceedings. Tartaglione is currently serving four consecutive life sentences for drug-related murders.

Despite the release, Judge Karas was careful to note that he was not vouching for the note’s authenticity or its chain of custody, merely asserting the public’s right to access the file.

The existence of the note has sparked further scrutiny of the original investigation. Reports indicate that federal investigators never saw the document during their initial probe, and it was notably absent from the millions of pages of evidence released by the Department of Justice in the years following Epstein’s death.

With the judge finding no “competing consideration” to justify keeping the note under seal, the public is now left to weigh the validity of these final, defiant words.