Autopsy indicates death of Jeffrey Epstein likely due to strangulation

By Matthew Taylor 

16 August 2019

A report from an autopsy performed on multi-millionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has revealed that he suffered broken bones in his neck during his alleged suicide by hanging last week.

The Washington Post and other media have reported that the hyoid bone, which lies behind the Adam’s apple, was found broken during the examination.

The Post article quoted Jonathan L. Arden, who is president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, as stating that a broken hyoid bone is more commonly associated with death by homicidal strangulation than hanging.

Jeffrey Epstein

The article goes on to cite studies done in both Thailand and India over the past decade on the results of suicide by hanging. The Thai study found that in only one-fourth of the twenty cases examined was there damage to the hyoid bone. The Indian study examined 264 suicides by hanging and found hyoid damage in only 16 cases, or six percent of the total.

The Indian study stated that rates of hyoid fractures in hangings depend on a variety of factors, including “age of the victim, the weight of the victim, type of suspension and height of suspension.”

The Post article also cites an incident in 2008 where the cause of death of a prisoner found dead by hanging in a Washington, DC, jail cell was determined to be a homicide, due to the discovery of a broken hyoid bone. The prisoner, Ronnie L. White, had been accused of killing a police officer. The autopsy performed on White stated that he had likely been strangled by a sheet, towel or “crux of the elbow”—a chokehold.

A broken hyoid bone due to strangulation is common enough that the New York City police cited the lack of a broken hyoid to excuse the murder by asphyxiation of Eric Garner, who was killed in 2014 when multiple NYPD officers pinned him to the ground, compressing his neck and chest, which lead to his death.

The initial report from the autopsy explodes the efforts by the media, led by the New York Times, to dismiss all questioning of the official explanation of Epstein’s death as “conspiracy theories.” Whether Epstein died from hanging or murder, there is clearly enough evidence to warrant a full criminal investigation.

The evidence of a conspiracy to have Epstein killed in one form or another is mounting. The Post article comes after other reports that screaming was heard from Epstein’s cell the morning of his death.

The warden of the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) has been transferred to a desk job, and the two guards on duty at the time of his death have been placed on administrative leave, following revelations that basic security protocols were not followed.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/16/epst-a16.html