‘Strangled, Not Hanged’: Doctor Who Witnessed Epstein's Autopsy Questions His Death After 7 Years

Last Updated:February 14, 2026, 09:25 IST

Dr Michael Baden, who observed Epstein’s post-mortem examination on behalf of the financier’s family, has reiterated his doubts over the conclusion that Epstein died by hanging.

Seven years after Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier facing federal sex trafficking charges, was found dead in a New York jail cell, questions surrounding the official ruling of his suicide have resurfaced.

Dr Michael Baden, who observed Epstein’s post-mortem examination on behalf of the financier’s family, has reiterated his doubts over the conclusion that Epstein died by hanging.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Baden said he believes Epstein’s death was more consistent with strangulation and called for a renewed investigation into the case.

“My opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging," Baden said, adding that, based on information now available, the cause and manner of death warrant further scrutiny.

Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide by hanging.

Baden did not conduct the autopsy himself but was present during the examination.

He has said that, at the time, he and the medical examiner agreed more information was needed before drawing firm conclusions.

He described his own assessment in 2019 as “inconclusive."

Five days after Epstein’s death certificate was issued pending further investigation, then chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson ruled the death a suicide, a finding she has consistently defended.

Baden told The Telegraph that Sampson was not present during the post-mortem.

One of the key points cited by Baden is the presence of three fractures in Epstein’s neck, one to the hyoid bone and two to the thyroid cartilage, as documented in the official autopsy report.

Baden has said that in his five-decade career, he has not encountered such injuries in cases of suicidal hanging, including deaths in custody.

In August 2019, he told Fox News that the evidence was more suggestive of homicide than suicide.

Epstein’s legal team had also expressed dissatisfaction with the medical examiner’s findings, according to the report.

Doubts have been further fuelled by documented security failures at the jail. A 2023 report by the US Department of Justice detailed multiple lapses at the facility, including failures to conduct and log routine cell checks.

Epstein was also found to have excess bedding and clothing in his cell, some of it torn into strips.

On the night before his death, Epstein’s cellmate was transferred out and not replaced.

Required 30-minute checks were not carried out for several hours after lockdown, and guards later admitted to falsifying records to indicate the rounds had been completed.

The next morning, Epstein was found hanging from the top bunk, partially seated, with an orange strip of material around his neck.

Guards attempted resuscitation before he was pronounced dead at a hospital. Two correctional officers were later charged with falsifying records related to the incident.

Recently reviewed video logs cited by CBS showed what was described as a “flash of orange" moving toward Epstein’s tier on the night of his death.

An FBI memo suggested it could have been an inmate, while an Inspector General’s report described it as an unidentified corrections officer carrying orange linen.

Then US attorney general Bill Barr had stated at the time that no one entered the tier that night.

With Baden again questioning the official account, the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, long the subject of public speculation, remain unresolved.

News world ‘Strangled, Not Hanged’: Doctor Who Witnessed Epstein's Autopsy Questions His Death After 7 Years

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