Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein? How a sordid tale ended

The three-hour special asks whether Jeffrey Epstein’s death last August was suicide or murder.

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019. Picture: Supplied

Veteran American investigative journalist Diane Dimond says it's a very dangerous time for journalists in the US following a spate of violent attacks on reporters covering the wave of protests and riots.

And is relieved she doesn’t have to be on the streets, where she started her career in the 1970s covering general news, before moving onto politics and crime.

"I was a street reporter for many, many years, I've covered demonstrations, I've covered political conventions, I've covered it all. And I have to tell you at this stage in my life, I'm glad I'm not out there because it's really, really dangerous for journalists right now," Dimond told The Australian.

New-York-based Dimond said photojournalist Linda Tirado lost an eye to a projectile while covering the riots in Minneapolis, sparked by the death of African-American George Floyd during police arrest on May 25.

"Nobody knows who. Was it a police rubber bullet or was it the demonstrators? Reporters have been shot and beaten.

"Doesn't the citizenry realise we are the front line for their information. And if we go and if we're attacked and we retreat, they won't know what the hell's going on," said Dimond, who reported accusations of child molestation allegations against singer Michael Jackson in 1993 while working at American news TV show Hard Copy.

The wave of protests around America also saw police attack Seven Network's reporter Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers in Washington, and the arrest CNN reporter Omar Jimenez arrested on live TV while he was covering protests in Minneapolis. The protests and violence has spread to London, with Nine Network's reporter Sophie Walsh attacked by a man while live on air, and its European correspondent Ben Avery ambushed by protesters.

Dimond's latest investigation, alongside a team of 15 to 20 researchers, journalists and producers, has culminated in an "in-depth series" on billionaire businessman Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly sexually abused young girls for years, for Investigation Discovery.

The three-hour special covers Epstein's early years, his rich and famous friends, specifically Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell, and whether his death last August was suicide or murder.

"People will learn that if you are rich and famous you get to play by a different set of rules in the US Justice System. Is that right ? No, it's not. Is it a fact? Yes, it is," said Dimond.

Dimond said Epstein always had "a bevy of young, really young underage girls" around him and regularly entertained rich and famous people. He also bragged to a lot of people that he had audio and video surveillance in all of his homes and private jet, the “Lolita Express”.

"Titans of tech and politicians and princes and stars of academia. Collectively, they have a lot of power and they have a lot of money. And, unfortunately, money talks, money can buy you a lot of nefarious things."

Dimond said it's "highly coincidental" that on the night Epstein allegedly committed suicide, his cellmate had been transferred out just hours earlier, hallway cameras weren't working and guards failed to check on the businessman every 30 minutes as part of their job.

"I think there's a high probability that someone paid somebody to get into that prison and do away with Jeffrey Epstein and stage it to look like a suicide."

The Australian premier of Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein? on pay-television and streaming group Foxtel and video streaming platform Fetch on Tuesday night comes just days after US streaming giant Netflix released its docu-series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, which has proved popular with viewers.