Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Jeffrey Epstein’s Autopsy Revealed Broken Neck Bones, Raising Questions About Death

Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy found multiple broken bones in his neck, injuries that occur more commonly in those who have been strangled, The Washington Post reported.

One broken bone was the hyoid, near the Adam’s apple. It is possible that the hyoid can break if one hangs themselves, forensics experts told the Post, but it is seen more in victims of strangulation.

Epstein, a millionaire financier who was arrested on sex trafficking charges last month, died by apparent suicide on Saturday. He was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Corrections officers reportedly had not checked on Epstein, who had previously been under suicide watch, for “several” hours. Conspiracy theories soon swirled around the internet.

New York City chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson said single factors in autopsy can’t point to a cause of death, which in this case is still labeled as pending.

“In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death,” Sampson told the Post. “Everything must be consistent; no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum.”

Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.