Newly-released photos and a diagram from Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy show fractures in his neck bones and cartilage, as a well-known forensic pathologist has publicly questioned the official ruling on Epstein’s cause of death.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, former New York City Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden, who observed Epstein’s autopsy, said on “Fox and Friends” this week that Epstein’s injuries are more consistent with homicidal strangulation than suicide by hanging. Epstein , 66, died on August 10 in his Manhattan jail cell as he was awaiting trail on sex trafficking charges, and the city’s chief medical examiner ruled that he killed himself by hanging.
Baden cited fractures in Epstein’s neck bones that he said were unusual in suicides.
“I’ve not seen in 50 years where that occurred in a suicidal hanging case,” Baden said on “Fox and Friends.”
Baden’s comments this week expounded on claims he made in August, when he said that a fracture in Epstein’s hyoid bone, which is just below the jaw, called into question whether Epstein took his own life. A Washington Post report published in mid-August cited forensic experts and research studies about the likelihood of hyoid bone breakage in suicides. According to the experts and study results, while the hyoid bone is broken more often in strangulation homicides than in suicides, the bone can and has been fractured in hanging suicides—and the likelihood of the bone breaking increases with age.
Fox News obtained a summary of the autopsy report which included photos of Epstein’s fractured neck bones and cartilage.
On Wednesday, New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson told the Associated Press that she stands by her ruling on Epstein’s cause of death.
“I stand firmly behind our determination of the cause and manner of death for Mr. Epstein. The cause is hanging, the manner is suicide,” Sampson told the news outlet.
“In forensics, it’s a general principle that all information from all aspects of an investigation must be considered together,” she said. “You can’t draw a conclusion from one finding. Everything about the case has to be considered.”
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