A federal judge has ordered the unsealing of an alleged suicide note purportedly written by late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bringing a document long buried in court records into public view following reporting by The New York Times.
The handwritten note, which had remained sealed for years in a New York federal courthouse, surfaced as part of criminal proceedings involving Nicholas Tartaglione — Epstein’s former cellmate and a former police officer later convicted in a quadruple murder case.
According to the report, Tartaglione claimed he discovered the alleged note in July 2019, weeks before Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell after previously being discovered injured and unresponsive.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ruled Wednesday that the document should be unsealed, siding with The Times in its request to make the material public. The judge determined there was not enough justification to keep the document sealed.
The note, described in court filings as a “suicide note purportedly authored by Jeffrey Epstein,” includes statements expressing frustration over prior investigations into Epstein.
“They investigated me for months – found nothing!!!” the note reads in part. Another line states, “Time to say goodbye.”
Some portions of the handwritten document are reportedly difficult to read.
Epstein died Aug. 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging, though it has continued to fuel widespread public scrutiny and speculation.
Tartaglione and Epstein were briefly housed together at the jail before Epstein’s death, though Tartaglione was no longer his cellmate at the time Epstein was found dead.
Questions surrounding the authenticity of the note quickly emerged after its release.
Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, told Fox News Digital he does not believe the document is legitimate and said he had never seen it before it became public.
“Makes no sense,” Mark Epstein said. “We know the event in July was not a suicide attempt. Hence, there would not be a note from then. He was not in the same cell with NT after that.”
Jeffrey Epstein had previously accused Tartaglione of assaulting him roughly a month before his death. Tartaglione later told correctional officers that Epstein had attempted to hang himself, though Epstein’s attorneys and family disputed that account and alleged he had been attacked.
The alleged suicide note was filed as part of proceedings connected to a Curcio hearing, which examined possible conflicts involving Tartaglione’s defense attorneys. While Judge Karas ordered the note itself unsealed, he declined to immediately release additional sealed materials requested by The New York Times.
Instead, the court instructed attorneys on both sides to submit proposed redactions and legal arguments before any further records are made public.
The ruling marks a major development in the long-running legal fallout surrounding both Epstein and Tartaglione, while reviving new questions about the circumstances leading up to Epstein’s death in federal custody.
