Published on: Dec 23, 2025 07:32 am IST
DOJ briefly posted a long-debunked video purporting to show Epstein’s suicide with new files Monday, then removed it; officials say no cell cameras existed.
Along with a slew of new Epstein materials released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday, a fake video of Epstein’s death was also shared on the DOJ website. The video, appearing to show Epstein’s suicide, has long been debunked. Later, the video was removed by the DOJ.
The 12-second clip was timestamped August 10, 2019, at 4:29 a.m. and claimed to show the final moments of Jeffrey Epstein in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York, where he was lodged after his 2019 arrest. The convicted sex trafficker was found dead in his cell at 6:30 a.m., appearing to have hung himself with bedsheets.
However, the video has long been debunked. Authorities have confirmed that there were no cameras inside Epstein’s jail cell on the night he committed suicide. Additionally, reports have noted that the manner in which the man hangs himself in the video is not congruous with how Epstein was found hanging by a prison guard on the morning of his death.
What’s The Story Behind The Video
It is not the first time that the fake video has misled people about Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide. According to reports, the video was uploaded to YouTube five years ago by a user named chadchaddington5164. It was most likely created using a 3D rendering software.
Also read: Justice department restores Donald Trump’s removed photo to Epstein Files. Here’s why
But the video has continued to come up time to time in discussions related to Epstein’s death, which itself is a hotly contested topic. Now, questions are being thrown at the DOJ as to why the video was uploaded on the website – albeit briefly – when it is widely established that it is fake. “I’m still interested in finding out why it’s included in the files,” popular conservative commentator Nick Sortor wrote on X.
Notably, the video has many other inaccuracies, as earlier reports have pointed out. The door in the cell is not the same as the one seen in the Epstein cell photos released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Moreover, many of the elements in the video appear to be animations, rather than real footage.
As of this writing, the DOJ has not explained why the video was included with the files released on its website on Monday.
