Merwin Dela Cruz

New Evidence Update: Missing Hard Drives and Chain of Custody Failures

Recent reporting from House Oversight Committee investigation reveals that critical evidence connected to Jeffrey Epstein was mishandled, removed, and in some cases never recovered, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the investigation.

Testimony from Richard Kahn confirms that after the 2019 FBI raid on Epstein, items including hard drives, cash, and diamonds were removed from Epstein’s residence by house manager Merwin Dela Cruz before being returned to federal authorities. This is a critical point because it establishes that key evidence was outside official law enforcement custody during a sensitive period, creating a clear risk of tampering, alteration, or loss.

Additional findings show that hard drives tied to Epstein’s earlier operations were obtained by private investigator Riley Kiraly and were never secured by federal investigators. This is one of the most important developments because it indicates that potentially high value digital evidence may still exist outside government control, with unknown contents and an unverified chain of custody.

These developments significantly expand documented failures in evidence handling and reinforce broader concerns outlined in the House Oversight Committee investigation into how critical materials connected to Epstein’s network were managed, tracked, and potentially lost.