Jeffrey Epstein’s cause of death revealed

The late convicted paedophile’s official cause of death has been determined in a new report almost four years after he was found dead in a jail cell.

Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was able to take his own life in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in part because he had access to too many bed sheets, a new probe has found.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was responsible for a “combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures” that enabled the late billionaire to die by suicide on August 10, 2019 at the since-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicicde in his jail cell in 2019. Picture: Florida Department of Law Enforcement / AFP.

Some of these factors included that jail staff had failed to assign a new inmate to Epstein’s cell after a previous one left, that there were problems with the surveillance cameras and that his cell “contained an excessive amount of bed linens” — which were used in the suicide, Mr Horowitz’s report says.

And “persistent” staffing shortages and overworked employees led to inmates being inadequately supervised, it added.

Specifically, Mr Horowitz said that 13 employees had poor performance and he recommended that charges be brought against six.

Two correction officers — Nova Noel and Michael Thomas — who were supposed to be guarding Epstein at the time of his suicide, were charged for falsifying logs but received no-jail plea deals.

The duo — who were both working overtime — had been sleeping and online shopping, when they were supposed to be checking on the financier every 30 minutes, The NY Post reports.

They are no longer with the BOP, according to spokesperson Benjamin O’Cone.

Mr Horowitz agreed with other investigation findings that there was no foul play in Epstein’s death — debunking conspiracy theories to the contrary.

The multi-millionaire had been in the facility for over a month and two weeks before his death he had been placed on suicide watch after scrapes and bruises were found on his neck — leading jail officials to believe he’d made a suicide attempt.

Ghislaine Maxwell (left) was convicted of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late US financier Epstein. Picture: US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP.

The 66-year-old hedge funder’s death deprived his victims, many of whom were underage girls at the time he abused them, of getting their day in court.

Scott Taylor, a BOP spokesman, said the agency had already put into place “several enhanced practices,” including reviews of video footage from restrictive housing units to ensure rounds are conducted accurately and timely.

Lieutenants now regularly count inmates in those units and workers must file reports on solo inmates. And the warden must be notified any time anyone is placed on suicide watch and workers receive suicide prevention training, Mr Taylor said.

“The BOP takes seriously our ability to protect and secure individuals in our custody while ensuring the safety of our correctional employees and the surrounding community,” he added.

“We make every effort to create a controlled environment within our facilities that is both secure and humane, prioritising the physical and emotional wellbeing of those in our care and custody.”