Jeffrey Epstein "sustained multiple breaks in his neck bones," per autopsy findings reported by The Washington Post late Wednesday.
The report cites information given from two unidentified people familiar with the autopsy proceedings. The hyoid bone near the Adam's apple is among the bones said to have been broken, with the report noting that such a break is possible when the person is hanged—"particularly if they are older"—but "more common" in homicide by strangulation victims.
66-year-old Epstein, who had been jailed at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was found dead in a cell by himself earlier this month.
He had reportedly been taken off suicide watch in late July, with the MCC warden now temporarily reassigned after U.S. Attorney General William Barr criticized the detention facility for what he characterized as a "failure to adequately secure this prisoner." Barr also said the death was an "apparent suicide."
In a statement to the Post, Barbara Sampson—the Office of New York City's chief medical examiner—said that "no single finding" on its own should be considered a conclusion.
"In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death," Sampson said. Sampson's team is now said to be looking for more information on Epstein's status in the moments before his death, a process that could range from obtaining jail hallway footage and toxicology findings, as well as interviews with those on site.
