Longtime Donald Trump friend and accused child rapist Jeffrey Epstein was found in his New York City jail cell in the fetal position with injuries to his neck. NBC News reports he has been moved to suicide watch, although it is unclear whether he attempted suicide or was attacked.
Two sources told NBC News that Epstein may have tried to hang himself, while a third source cautioned that the injuries weren't serious, questioning whether Epstein might have staged an attack or a suicide attempt to get a transfer to another facility.
Another inmate was questioned about Epstein’s injuries.
Another source said that an assault hadn't been ruled out and that another inmate, identified by sources as Nicholas Tartaglione, had been questioned.
Tartaglione, 49, is a former police officer in Briarcliff Manor, New York, who was arrested in December 2016 and accused of killing four men in an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy, then burying their bodies in his yard in Otisville, according to court records. He was charged with drug conspiracy and four counts of murder and is awaiting trial.
Tartaglione denied seeing anything or having any involvement.
Meanwhile, the Epstein investigation has expanded beyond New York City, Palm Beach, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to New Mexico, where Epstein also had a massive compound. New, previously unidentified victims have come forward to say they were abused in his New Mexico home, which featured his own private runway to buzz in and out. Unlike in other states, Epstein was not required to register as a sex offender in New Mexico.
"New Mexico continues to lag behind the rest of the country in strengthening outdated and weak laws that fail to protect our children from abuse," New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. "This is a huge black eye for our state."
Balderas said they are working to change that law so that sex offenders must register in the state.