Epstein’s autopsy reveals broken neck bones, according to reports

Jeffrey Epstein, who died last weekend after being found unconscious in his New York jail cell, suffered multiple breaks to his neck bones, including the hyoid bone near the Adam’s apple that can occur both in hanging and in strangulation, according to media reports.

The office of New York City’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, completed an autopsy of the disgraced financier’s body Sunday but has listed the cause of his death as pending.

The cause of the death has not been announced, but a person familiar with operations at the detention facility said Epstein, who was in jail awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, was discovered in his cell with a bed sheet around his neck, according to the Associated Press.

The Washington Post first reported that the autopsy found that Epstein suffered multiple breaks in his neck bones, including the hyoid.

Asked about the neck injuries, Sampson said in a statement that no single factor in an autopsy can alone provide a conclusive answer about what happened, the Post reported.

“In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death. Everything must be consistent; no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum,” the statement said, according to the Post.

NBC News, according to a person familiar with the matter, also reported that the autopsy found a bone break in Epstein’s neck.

NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres, noting that hyoid fractures grow more likely for older adult, said studies show them to occur in roughly 25% of hanging deaths and 35% of strangulation deaths.

The FBI and Justice Department Inspector General are investigating the circumstances around Epstein’s death. He was found unresponsive in his cell at the high security detention center in Manhattan on Saturday and was pronounced dead at a New York hospital.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who said he was “appalled” over Epstein’s death while under guard by the Bureau of Prisons his department oversees, has said he died of an “apparent suicide.”

The lack of definitive information regarding the high-profile death and the reports that guards did not check on Epstein for several hours before he was found has spurred numerous conspiracy theories as to the cause of death.

President Trump contributed to the speculation by re-tweeting one theory that Epstein – who counted numerous wealthy and politically powerful men among his friends – might have been killed to keep him from revealing the secrets of others.

Read more at usatoday.com