Judge Releases Alleged Epstein Suicide Note Mentioning ‘time to say goodbye’

Mintesinot Niggusie

A federal judge has released a document described as a suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein, including a passage stating: “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.”

Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 in what authorities ruled a suicide. The handwritten note was said to have been discovered by his former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a convicted murderer and former police officer.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered the note unsealed after a request by The New York Times, which reported on its existence last week. The judge said the document qualified as a judicial record because it had been submitted in connection with Tartaglione’s criminal case, and was therefore subject to public access.

Karas said there was no legal basis to keep the note sealed. He did not, however, make any determination on its authenticity or chain of custody, stating that those questions were not relevant to the decision to unseal it. “No party has identified any competing consideration that would justify sealing the Note,” the judge ruled.

The note, written on a yellow legal pad, was submitted by Tartaglione’s legal team. Tartaglione was Epstein’s cellmate for about two weeks in July 2019 while both were held at a Manhattan jail.

According to an image filed in court records, the note included references to federal investigations and the charges against Epstein. It read in part: “They investigated me for month - Found NOTHING!!! So 15 year old charges resulted.” It also included the line: “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do - Burst out cryin!! NO FUN - NOT WORTH IT!!”

Epstein had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor, a case that resulted in a controversial plea deal and a short prison sentence. He was later arrested again in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges involving allegations of abuse of underage girls in New York and Florida.

The note reportedly surfaced after Epstein was found alive in his cell in July 2019 with marks on his neck in what authorities described as an apparent suicide attempt. Tartaglione has said the note was found inside a book in their shared cell.

Epstein died on August 10, 2019, weeks later, in a separate incident ruled a suicide.

The existence of the note drew renewed attention after it was mentioned in a podcast interview by Tartaglione last year and later reported by The New York Times. The newspaper said the document had not been seen by federal investigators and was absent from previously released Justice Department files on Epstein.

In ordering its release, the judge rejected privacy arguments, citing Epstein’s death and extensive public interest in the material.