Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘suicide’ under fire: Pathologist renews homicide charge after 3 million page DOJ leak | World News

Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden has officially renewed his appeal against the official verdict regarding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. This move reignited one of the most intractable debates in recent American history.

Dr., who observed the 2019 autopsy on the Epstein family. In a detailed interview with The Telegraph on February 14, 2026, Baden stated that new evidence from a large Department of Justice (DOJ) file supports his original belief: that Epstein died by homicidal asphyxiation, not suicide.

Autopsy Debate: From “Inconclusive” to “Murder”
The New York Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Chief Forensic Expert of the period, Dr. While Barbara Sampson described Epstein’s death as suicide by hanging himself within five days, Dr. Baden claimed the initial review was inconclusive.

Dr. Baden claims that during the autopsy, the medical examiner initially agreed that more information was needed.

Baden, during the physical autopsy, Dr. He noted that Sampson was not there but made the decision to commit “suicide” shortly afterwards. He noted that this move was premature for such a high-profile, suspicious case.

“Red Flag” Fractures
Dr. At the center of Baden’s claim are three separate fractures found in Epstein’s neck: one in the hyoid bone and two in the thyroid cartilage.

“In my 50-year career examining prisoner deaths in New York, I have never seen three neck fractures in a person who committed suicide by hanging,” Baden said.

Forensic medicine experts state that hyoid fractures can occur during hanging, especially in elderly individuals, and that the likelihood of having more than one fracture is statistically higher in case of manual strangulation.

“Orange Flash”: New Video Inconsistencies
The renewal of this investigation in 2026 was supported by the recent release of 3 million pages of files on Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Key findings include:

Timeline Gaps: Video footage from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) shows an “orange light” moving toward the level where Epstein was found at 10:39 p.m. on August 9, 2019 (the night before his body was found).

Conflicting Identities: Although an FBI memo suggests the figure is a prisoner and the Inspector General labels him as a guard in a chador, independent video analysis by CBS shows the movement is consistent with a prisoner in a standard orange uniform.

Security Failures: Files confirm that Epstein’s cellmate had been moved out only 24 hours earlier and that required 30-minute welfare checks were mistakenly recorded by guards who were later indicted.

Political Fallout and the “Cooperation” Bombshell
The 2026 documents also show that just days before Epstein’s death, his lawyers were in discussions with federal prosecutors about possible cooperation. This “Major Case Notice” implies that Epstein may have been prepared to name associates in exchange for a settlement, offering possible cause for foul play.

While Rep. Ro Khanna and other lawmakers continue to release unredacted names from the files, Dr. Baden’s call to reopen the death investigation puts a new layer of legal pressure on the Justice Department.

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