A forensic pathologist said that burst capillaries located in Jeffrey Epstein’s eyes strongly suggest the jailed pedophile was manually strangled and did not kill himself.
In a clip provided to the Daily Mail, former New York City Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden revealed during a “Dr. Oz” interview that there were several “red flags” on Epstein’s body which suggest he was murdered. Epstein’s brother had reportedly hired Baden to observe the late billionaire financier’s autopsy.
In addition to the burst capillaries, Baden claimed that Epstein’s lower extremities were pale, not bluish or purple which are typical in hangings.
“In a hanging, the arteries and the blood vessels, the veins are both clogged off and the person is pale. The face is pale. With a manual strangulation, there’s a backup of a pressure and the little capillaries can rupture and they’re best seen in the eye,” Baden explained during his “Dr. Oz” interview, which is to air on Thursday.
Epstein, 66, was jailed without bond in July following allegations that he sex-trafficked dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005. The registered sex offender died on August 10 after reportedly being found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
According to law enforcement sources who spoke to the New York Post, authorities believe Epstein tied one end of a sheet around his neck and the other around a bed railing. He then kneeled forward in a hanging position until he died, the sources said.
While the medical examiner’s office maintains that Epstein died via hanging, Baden said they initially determined his cause of death was inconclusive. He noted that it is “very unusual” for prison-related deaths to be changed to hanging after being deemed inconclusive. The change was reportedly made five days after their initial determination.
Baden also mentioned that the noose recovered from Epstein’s cell was inconsistent with his injuries.
“Doesn’t follow the furrow, number one. Number two, there’s no evidence that there’s any blood or tissue on any of the part of the loop. Most of all, this little area shows a pattern that wouldn’t be made by this smooth surface of the sheet that was torn to make the noose,” Baden said.
The forensic pathologist went on to charge that there has been a “total lack of transparency” in regard to Epstein’s cause of death.
Baden’s interview on “Dr. Oz” is scheduled to air on Thursday at 1 p.m. (EST).
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[Featured image: Jeffrey Epstein/Handout]
