Nicholas Tartaglione, a convicted quadruple murderer and Epstein's former prison cellmate, told The New York Times that he found the note in July 2019, after Epstein survived an earlier suicide attempt. He claimed it was written on a yellow pad and left in a book.
According to a prison report, Epstein was found in his cell on July 23, 2019, “with a makeshift noose around his neck.” The document states that he was lying on the floor in a fetal position, breathing heavily, and had redness and abrasions on his neck. He initially claimed that Tartaglione had tried to kill him, but later retracted that accusation and said he had no memory of what happened. Tartaglione denies trying to harm him.
Tartaglione first publicly mentioned the existence of the alleged message last year on a podcast, when he said it read: "The FBI investigated me for months and found nothing. What do you want me to do? Cry about it? ... It's time to say goodbye." He added that the text was accompanied by a smiley face.
The note is now part of the sealed file in Tartaglione's criminal case. The New York Times filed a motion Thursday with federal Judge Kenneth Karas to unseal the document, saying Tartaglione has already spoken publicly about it and that the note is mentioned in recently released Justice Department documents. The judge ordered the parties to file their comments on the motion by May 4.
Sources familiar with the case told ABC News that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York were not previously aware of any suicide note. Epstein claimed during a risk assessment after the first incident that he was not suicidal, saying, "I have no intention of killing myself."
However, he died on August 10, 2019, in prison awaiting trial, and his death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging. Tartaglione was found guilty in 2023 and sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in 2024.
