EFTA00072697: BOP Memorandum re: “Possible Suicide Attempt” (July 23, 2019)

UpdatedSeptember 10, 2026

ByEpsteinWiki

Snapshot

Field	Detail
Evidence identifier	EFTA00072697
Document	Federal Bureau of Prisons memorandum
Date	July 23, 2019
Subject	“Possible Suicide Attempt”
Facility	Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York
Released length	Two pages, stamped EFTA00072697 and EFTA00072698
Status	Contemporaneous account with extensive redactions, not a final investigative finding
Later official finding about the July 23 incident	BOP Special Investigative Services found insufficient evidence to determine whether Jeffrey Epstein harmed himself or was harmed by his cellmate

Content note: This article discusses a custodial neck injury, possible self harm, an allegation of assault, and suicide. The released memorandum also contains offensive language attributed to the cellmate. That language is not repeated here because it does not help resolve the incident.

What Is This Record?

EFTA00072697 is a Federal Bureau of Prisons memorandum created at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on July 23, 2019. Its subject is “Possible Suicide Attempt.” The released copy bears the markings “Sensitive Disclosure Material” and “Sensitive Limited Official Use Only.”

The memorandum records statements gathered shortly after Jeffrey Epstein was found injured in the Special Housing Unit. It preserves two sharply different initial accounts. According to the memo, Epstein said his cellmate had tried to kill him and had been harassing him. The cellmate said he woke, saw Epstein with a string around his neck, and called for correctional officers.

The record matters because it is contemporaneous, but it does not decide which account was true. Large portions are redacted, the author is not identified in the public copy, and the two pages do not include the medical examination, photographs, witness interviews, disciplinary record, or final investigation.

Source and Provenance

The document is available through two public repositories:

The first released page is stamped EFTA00072697. The second is stamped EFTA00072698. The pages also carry internal reference numbers NT_057379 and NT_057380.

The public copy is heavily redacted. The redactions conceal the memorandum author, the cellmate’s name, portions of the opening narrative, and several passages on both pages. Readers therefore should not assume that the visible text represents the complete memorandum or the entire institutional record.

Evidence and Document Index

Page	EFTA stamp	Visible content	Evidentiary limit
1	EFTA00072697	BOP heading, date, subject, Epstein’s reported accusation, and the beginning of the cellmate’s account	Opening narrative, names, and substantial context are redacted
2	EFTA00072698	Continuation of the cellmate’s account, description of the cell arrangement, references to a newspaper, and Epstein’s reported response to the allegation	Several passages remain redacted; the page contains attributed offensive language and no investigative conclusion

The two EFTA stamps belong to one memorandum. They should not be treated as two separate documents.

What the Memorandum Records

The visible portion of page one says an officer reported that Epstein was alert. Epstein reportedly stated that his cellmate had attempted to kill him, had been harassing him, and that Epstein had told his attorney about the problem.

The memorandum writer then photographed and interviewed the cellmate. According to the visible text, the cellmate said he had been asleep with headphones on when he felt something strike his legs. He turned on the light, saw Epstein with a string around his neck, and called for officers.

On page two, the cellmate described the sleeping arrangement. He said he ordinarily used the lower bunk but had given it to Epstein because of Epstein’s age, leaving the cellmate to sleep on a mattress on the floor. He could not remember whether he sat up or stood when he checked on Epstein. He described Epstein as seated on the floor, leaning to one side, with his eyes open but not responding. He also said Epstein had been snoring loudly earlier.

The page contains additional conversation attributed to the cellmate about the conditions in the facility and a newspaper item concerning Epstein. It includes racist and abusive language. Repeating that language would add harm without clarifying whether the injury was self inflicted or caused by another person.

When the allegation against the cellmate was raised, the memorandum attributes to Epstein a statement that he had been told staff would not care if the cellmate hurt him. Because the surrounding text is partly redacted, the statement’s source, timing, and full context cannot be reconstructed from these pages alone.

The Central Conflict

The memorandum preserves incompatible accounts:

Epstein’s initial account, as relayed by an officer, was that his cellmate tried to kill him and had harassed him.
The cellmate’s account was that he discovered Epstein with a string around his neck and summoned staff.

Neither statement is independently proved merely because a BOP employee recorded it. A contemporaneous memorandum can establish that a statement was reported. It does not, by itself, establish that the statement was accurate.

The subject line is equally limited. “Possible Suicide Attempt” describes the event category used in the memorandum. It is not a medical conclusion, an adjudicated fact, or the final result of the BOP investigation.

Later Official Findings About July 23

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General reviewed a much larger record for its June 2023 report on Epstein’s custody at MCC New York. The report states that officers responded at approximately 1:27 a.m. and found Epstein with an orange cloth around his neck. Medical personnel documented friction marks and superficial redness around his neck, as well as an injury to his knee, and placed him on suicide watch.

The OIG reported that Epstein was removed from suicide watch on July 24 after approximately 31 hours, then remained under psychological observation until July 30. The report also states that Epstein later said he did not know what had happened and did not want to discuss how he sustained the injuries. At another point he asked whether he could again be housed with the same cellmate.

The OIG identified evidence that supported parts of the cellmate’s account. Another person housed on the tier said he heard the cellmate call for assistance and later heard the cellmate say Epstein had tried to hang himself from the bunk ladder. That is corroboration of what the cellmate said and did, not conclusive proof of how the injury occurred.

BOP disciplinary proceedings did not sustain a self mutilation charge because the evidence was insufficient. On August 2, 2019, BOP Special Investigative Services completed its investigation and found insufficient evidence to determine either that Epstein harmed himself or that his cellmate harmed him.

That unresolved finding is the most important official limit on any interpretation of EFTA00072697.

Timeline

Date	Event
July 23, 2019, approximately 1:27 a.m.	Officers responded to Epstein’s cell. The released memorandum records the competing immediate accounts.
July 23, 2019	Medical personnel examined Epstein and he was placed on suicide watch.
July 24, 2019	Epstein was removed from suicide watch and continued under psychological observation.
July 30, 2019	Psychological observation ended. Psychology personnel communicated that Epstein should be housed with an appropriate cellmate.
August 2, 2019	BOP Special Investigative Services closed its inquiry without enough evidence to determine self harm or harm by the cellmate.
August 9, 2019	Epstein’s later cellmate was transferred and no replacement was assigned.
August 10, 2019	Epstein was found dead in his cell. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
June 27, 2023	The DOJ Office of the Inspector General published Report 23-085 on Epstein’s custody, care, and supervision.

Relationship to Epstein’s August 10 Death

The July 23 injury and the August 10 death must be kept analytically separate. This memorandum concerns the earlier incident. It does not describe the events of August 9 or August 10, and it does not establish how Epstein later died.

The OIG found numerous serious failures surrounding August 10. Staff did not assign the replacement cellmate required by Psychology, did not conduct required rounds and counts, allowed excess linens to remain in the cell, and falsified institutional records. A recording system malfunction also limited the available camera evidence.

At the same time, the OIG stated that it found no evidence contradicting the FBI’s determination that there was no criminality in how Epstein died. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was hanging and the manner of death was suicide. The OIG’s conclusions about August 10 do not retroactively resolve the disputed July 23 event.

What This Record Establishes

A BOP memorandum about the July 23 incident was created that day at MCC New York.
The memorandum’s subject was “Possible Suicide Attempt.”
Staff recorded Epstein’s allegation that his cellmate had tried to kill him and the cellmate’s incompatible account that he found Epstein with a string around his neck.
The memorandum writer reported photographing and interviewing the cellmate.
The released record contains extensive redactions and spans two EFTA pages.
Later BOP investigators were unable to determine whether the injury resulted from self harm or harm by the cellmate.

What This Record Does Not Establish

It does not prove that Epstein attempted suicide on July 23.
It does not prove that the cellmate assaulted Epstein.
It does not provide the complete medical, photographic, surveillance, or interview record.
It does not show who made every decision about suicide watch, psychological observation, or later housing.
It does not establish the circumstances or manner of Epstein’s death on August 10.
It does not justify identifying the redacted cellmate solely from these two pages.

Reliability and Limitations

The memorandum is strong evidence of what BOP personnel documented on July 23. It is weaker evidence of how Epstein’s injury actually occurred. Its visible narrative relies on attributed statements made in a chaotic setting, and the speakers disagreed on the central fact.

The document’s heavy redactions prevent readers from evaluating the full sequence, the identity and role of the author, all questions asked, and all answers recorded. The released pages also omit the photographs mentioned by the writer. No conclusion appears in the visible memo.

The later OIG report is broader and more reliable for the institutional chronology because it draws on medical records, staff and inmate interviews, BOP investigative files, disciplinary proceedings, video evidence, and other records. Even that expanded inquiry reports that the July 23 cause remained unresolved.

Why It Matters

The memorandum captures the first institutional record of a serious warning event less than three weeks before Epstein’s death. It shows that staff faced an immediate safety question with two competing explanations. Later records show that the incident led to suicide watch, psychological observation, an investigation, and a requirement that Epstein be housed with an appropriate cellmate.

Its value is therefore not that it proves a particular theory. Its value is that it documents the uncertainty BOP confronted, the protective measures that followed, and the risk information available before the later failures identified by the OIG.

This distinction matters to survivors and the public. Epstein’s death ended the federal prosecution before trial and deprived survivors of a criminal adjudication. Accurate treatment of the custodial record should preserve documented failures without turning unresolved evidence into certainty.

Fact Check

Reviewed September 10, 2026.

Claim	Finding	Basis
The memo is dated July 23, 2019	Confirmed	Date printed on EFTA00072697
The memo was created at MCC New York by the BOP	Confirmed	Agency and facility heading on the released record
Epstein initially alleged that his cellmate tried to kill him	Confirmed as a reported statement, not as an established event	Visible text on EFTA00072697
The cellmate said he found Epstein with a string around his neck and called guards	Confirmed as a reported statement	Visible text on EFTA00072697
BOP proved the July 23 event was a suicide attempt	False	BOP Special Investigative Services later found insufficient evidence to determine self harm or harm by the cellmate
BOP proved the cellmate assaulted Epstein	False	The same investigation found insufficient evidence for that conclusion
The July 23 memo proves how Epstein died on August 10	False	The memo concerns a separate earlier incident; the medical examiner ruled the later death a suicide, and the OIG found no evidence contradicting the FBI’s no criminality determination
The public memorandum is complete and unredacted	False	Names and substantial passages are redacted across both pages

Questions Still Unanswered

What information appears in the fully redacted opening paragraphs and other concealed passages?
Who authored the memorandum, who received it, and when was it entered into the investigative file?
What do the photographs mentioned in the memorandum show, and were they preserved with complete chain of custody records?
Were all officers, medical personnel, and people housed on the tier interviewed promptly?
What evidence caused Epstein to change from alleging an assault to saying he did not know what occurred?
What specific evidence did Special Investigative Services consider before closing the inquiry as unresolved?
How were the unresolved July 23 findings communicated to the officials responsible for Epstein’s later housing and monitoring?

Related EpsteinWiki Pages

Sources

EFTA00072697 Download

PostedFebruary 3, 2026