Probe launched into financier’s cell death

Jeffrey Epstein was facing charges of orchestrating a sex trafficking ring and abusing girls

US federal investigators have launched a probe into the death of financier Jeffrey Epstein, following his apparent suicide in his prison cell.

Epstein, who was accused of orchestrating a sex trafficking ring and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found on Saturday morning unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

He was later pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital.

Epstein had been placed on suicide watch after he was found a little over two weeks ago with bruising on his neck, according to a person familiar with the matter. But he was taken off the watch at the end of July.

Attorney General William Barr, calling for an investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s death while in federal custody.

“Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Mr Barr said in a statement.

Epstein, 66, had been denied bail and faced up to 45 years behind bars on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. He had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial.

The federal investigation into the allegations remains ongoing, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.

He noted that the indictment against Epstein includes a conspiracy charge, suggesting others could face charges in the case.

Epstein’s death raises questions about how the Bureau of Prisons ensures the welfare of such high-profile inmates.

In October, Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was killed in a federal prison in West Virginia where he had just been transferred.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a scathing letter to Mr Barr that “heads must roll” after the incident.

“Every single person in the Justice Department – from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer – knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him,” Mr Sasse wrote.

On Friday, more than 2,000 pages of documents were released related to a since-settled lawsuit against Epstein’s ex-girlfriend by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers.

The records contain graphic allegations against Epstein, as well as the transcript of a 2016 deposition of Epstein in which he repeatedly refused to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself.

Ms Giuffre, in an interview with The New York Times, said she was angry that there would be no chance to see him answer for his conduct.

Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. WILLIAM BARR, US ATTORNEY GENERAL

Picture: AP. Jeffrey Epstein had been taken off suicide watch at the end of last month.