Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein signed will two days before suicide

Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was worth $853m when he died this month — but one detail found in new court documents is raising eyebrows.

Jeffrey Epstein’s will has been filed in the US Virgin Islands, and it shows that he signed it on August 8 — two days before he killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, according to court papers exclusively obtained by The Post.

The multi-millionaire convicted paedophile was worth $US577,672,654 ($A853,280,277) or about $US18 million ($A26.5 million) more than he previously stated in court papers when futilely trying to land bail on federal sex trafficking charges, the new documents show.

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Epstein was regularly described as a “billionaire”, although the documents suggest he may have been worth less than previously believed.

Jeffrey Epstein signed a will two days before his death in a Manhattan jail cell. Picture: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP

The former hedge fund manager put all of his holdings in a trust, called The 1953 Trust in court papers after the year he was born.

The 21-page filing includes a copy of Epstein’s death certificate from August 15, five days after his suicide — and lists “Immediate Cause: Pending Further Study”.

The city Medical Examiner’s Office has since ruled that he killed himself.

Donald Trump and wife Melania pictured with Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club in 2000. Picture: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

The 66-year-old bachelor’s will was filed with court officials in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two islands worth a total of more than $US86 million ($A127 million).

One of the secluded Caribbean isles, Little St James Island, was dubbed “Paedophile Island” by locals who said they witnessed a parade of what looked like barely legal girls there.

There are no details on the trust’s beneficiaries.

An apartment building owned by Epstein in the 16th district in Paris. Picture: Francois Mori/AP Photo

The court papers note Epstein’s only potential heir was his brother Mark Epstein.

But the will adds Mark only had a claim to his brother’s extensive holdings if Jeffrey hadn’t left behind the document.

Epstein’s list of holdings in the new documents mainly mirrors what his lawyers previously filed when seeking bail:

• Cash: $US56,547,773 ($A83,526,715)

• Fixed income: $US14,304,679 ($A21,129,441)

• Equities: $US112,679,138 ($A166,438,354)

• Hedge funds and private equity: $US194,986,301 ($A288,014,265)

• Properties including: 9 E 71st St, Manhattan, worth $US55,931,000 ($A82,615,680), 49 Zorro Ranch Road, Stanley, New Mexico, $US17,246,208 ($A25,474,373), 358 El Brillo Way, Palm Beach, Florida, $US12,380,209 ($A18,286,806), 22 Ave Foch, Paris, France, $US8,672,823 ($A12,810,626), Great St James Island in the Virgin Islands, $US22,498,600 ($A33,232,682) and Little St James Island, also there, $US63,874,223 ($A94,348,614).

But the new papers also include a line for “aviation assets, automobiles and boats”, a collection worth $US18,551,700 ($A27,402,716).

A view of Epstein's stone mansion on Little St James Island. Picture: Gabriel Lopez Albarran/AP Photo

As for Epstein’s famous, eccentric, sex-drenched art collection — “fine arts, antiques, collectibles, valuables”, according to the papers — that still needs to be appraised.

An autopsy on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has concluded that he committed suicide.

The ruling came six days after the 66-year-old, who was accused of trafficking girls as young as 14 for sex, was found dead in his jail cell.

The New York City medical examiner’s investigation into how Epstein had died confirmed that the wealthy hedge fund manager had killed himself.

The ruling came a day after US media reported that preliminary findings from the post-mortem examination had found broken bones in Epstein’s neck.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center where financier Jeffrey Epstein was held in New York. Picture: Don Emmert/AFP

The Washington Post and The New York Times cited sources familiar with the autopsy report as saying Epstein had broken the hyoid bone near his Adam’s apple.

Epstein, a multi-millionaire who once counted Britain’s Prince Andrew and Donald Trump as friends, was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

According to prosecutors, Epstein sexually exploited dozens of teenagers at his homes in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 and 2005.

He denied the charges but faced up to 45 years in jail if found guilty.

The FBI and Justice Department are investigating how America’s most high-profile inmate managed to take his own life just weeks after an earlier reported suicide attempt.

The exterior of the residence owned by Jeffrey Epstein on New York’s Upper East Side. Picture: Kevin Hagen/Getty Images/AFP

The warden of the Metropolitan Correctional Center where Epstein was housed has been temporarily reassigned and two guards put on administrative leave pending an investigation.

They guards were reportedly asleep when they should have been checking on Epstein.

Epstein’s death came a day after a court released documents in which an alleged victim said he used her as a “sex slave” and that she was forced to have sex with well-known politicians and businessmen.

Prosecutors have pledged to pursue cases against anyone else involved in Epstein’s alleged crimes.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission