{"id":170810,"date":"2026-03-21T18:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/170810\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T18:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:01:38","slug":"new-video-shows-guards-milling-about-while-epstein-a-few-feet-away-in-his-cell-possibly-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/170810\/","title":{"rendered":"New video shows guards milling about while Epstein a few feet away in his cell, possibly dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

A newly revealed surveillance video from the\u00a0night of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s death shows the prison guards<\/a>\u00a0casually milling about only a few feet\u00a0from the cell where he killed himself.<\/p>\n

Correctional officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas are seen lounging in front of the officer station in the Special Housing Unit of Manhattan\u2019s Metropolitan Correctional Center at around 3:15 a.m., both writing on a piece of paper, walking back and forth and talking on the phone \u2014 instead of conducting the mandatory 3 a.m. rounds, according to video unearthed in the trove of DOJ documents recently released.<\/p>\n

Correctional officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were seen on surveillance video from the Manhattan Correctional Center failing to do their mandated rounds while Epstein possibly laid lifeless in his nearby jail cell. DOJ<\/p>\n

Epstein was just a few feet away \u2014 the first cell on the block, just down a short set of stairs behind the officer station of the ninth floor L tier wing, according to schematics of the prison.<\/p>\n

The sex predator is believed to have killed himself sometime between 10:30 p.m. Aug. 9 \u2014 the last time Noel, who was working a double shift, checked on inmates \u2014 and 6:30 a.m. Aug. 10, when Noel and Thomas discovered his lifeless body while serving breakfast to inmates, according to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

The guards apparently ignored the bright-orange warnings and reminders that the officer in charge of the Special Housing Unit had plastered on their computers.<\/p>\n

The notes reminded everyon that Epstein was fresh off suicide watch, needed a bunkmate at all times, and regular check-ins, the DOJ documents reveal.<\/p>\n

\u201cManadatory [sic] rounds must be conducted every 30 minutes on Epstein, as per God!!!\u201d read one order.<\/p>\n

The SHU boss, Lt. Roberto Grijalva, later told DOJ investigators, \u201cI put it next to the computer. It was just something between us, that said, make sure rounds are conducted and he has a bunkie at all times. It\u2019s bright orange paper and black lettering.\u201d<\/p>\n

This sign was hung on the guard\u2019s station in the Special Housing Unit where Epstein died on Aug. 10, 2019. DOJ<\/p>\n

Grijalva said he left the instructions \u201cright next to the screen, hanging on the PC\u201d sometime before he went home for the weekend at 2 p.m. on Aug. 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever was there, they watched \u2014 saw that paper. Monday, I came in and that paper wasn\u2019t there anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Grijalva said around 8 a.m. on Aug. 9, he brought Epstein and his cell mate, convicted drug dealer Efrain Reyes, downstairs. Epstein was meeting with his lawyers all day, and Reyes had all his belongings with him, and was likely heading home.<\/p>\n

Michael Thomas was apparently asleep at one of the guard stations while Epstein sat alone in his cell hours before he was found dead on Aug. 10, 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked them towards the door, I said, \u2018you\u2019re going to get a bunkie,’\u201d Grijalva recalled telling him. \u201cEpstein is like, \u2018No, I\u2019m good.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seemed calm,\u201d Grijalva added of Epstein. \u201cHe joked around because he asked for a new jumper and I told him, \u2018No.\u2019 And he said, \u2018Why not? I was like, \u2018It\u2019s a jail, this is what you got to do. Nobody else gets a jumper, it\u2019s not Versace,\u2019 you know. He\u2019s, \u2018Ha, ha, ha, ha,\u2019 he laughed and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grijalva said before leaving for the weekend, he told staff multiple times Epstein would need a new cell mate when he returned from meeting with his lawyers that evening.<\/p>\n

First responders perform CPR on Jeffrey Epstein after he was found hanged in his cell at the MCC on Aug. 10, 2019. US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE<\/p>\n

He also told inspectors the reason Epstein had multiple orange sheets in his cell \u2014 the cloths he used to hang himself \u2014 is because officers failed to remove Reyes\u2019 sheets when he was discharged, and they likely gave Epstein a couple extra after he complained he was cold at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey f\u2013ked up,\u201d Grijalva said. \u201cSorry. That\u2019s a big no go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grijalva is still employed at the Manhattan Correctional Center and has been promoted to deputy captain, according to the Bureau of Prisons.<\/p>\n

The House Oversight Committee Chair called Noel in for an interview March 26 \u2014 after The Post reported she\u00a0googled Epstein shortly before he took his life<\/a> and banked mysterious cash deposits.<\/p>\n

Noel and Thomas were accused of falsifying records that said they checked on Epstein throughout the night \u2014 even though investigators later learned they failed to do the 3 am and 5 am rounds. <\/p>\n

They were fired but criminal\u00a0charges against both were dropped in 2021 by Obama-appointed US District Court Judge Analisa Torres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A newly revealed surveillance video from the\u00a0night of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s death shows the prison guards\u00a0casually milling about only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22884,6769,9,11,10,4719,340,13369,58,1115],"class_list":["post-170810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-corrections-officers","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-prisons","tag-suicide","tag-surveillance","tag-us-news","tag-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}