\n<\/p>\n
(AP Photo\/Jeff Roberson)<\/p>\n
A pathologist with decades of experience who observed Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s<\/strong> autopsy said the disgraced financier\u2019s injuries in death were \u201cmore consistent\u201d with \u201chomicidal strangulation\u201d than hanging and claimed demands for further investigation at the time were \u201csuperseded\u201d to push the official ruling that he killed himself.<\/p>\n Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. New York\u2019s chief medical examiner at the time, Dr. Barbara Sampson<\/strong>, ruled the death a suicide by hanging.<\/p>\n Dr. Michael Baden<\/strong>, who attended the autopsy as an observer on behalf of Epstein\u2019s estate, told The Telegraph<\/em> on Friday that the case \u201cwarranted\u201d further scrutiny after the release of new documents by the Justice Department.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cMy opinion is that his death was most likely caused by strangulation pressure rather than hanging.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiven all the information now available, further investigation into the cause and manner of death is warranted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dr. Baden did not conduct the post-mortem but said he and the medical examiner initially agreed that \u201cmore information was needed to determine the cause and manner of death.\u201d He noted his findings at the time were \u201cinconclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n A redacted version of the report, later released by the Justice Department, listed the \u201cmanner of death\u201d as \u201cpending\u201d, with boxes for suicide and homicide left blank.<\/p>\n The official findings recorded three fractures in Epstein\u2019s neck. Dr. Baden said he had never seen such injuries in a suicide by hanging during five decades reviewing inmate deaths.<\/p>\n \u201cEven one fracture, we have to investigate the possibility of a homicide. Two definitely warrant a full investigation,\u201d he told the newspaper. \u201cFindings in textbooks never see those fractures, and neither have I.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThat was my opinion at that time, and I still stand by it. The autopsy findings are much more consistent with a crushing injury caused by homicidal strangulation than caused by hanging by suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the official report, a noose made of an orange bedsheet collected at the scene was later determined not to be one used in Epstein\u2019s death. Dr. Baden said he had noticed this during the post mortem and was concerned at the time that \u201cthe noose didn\u2019t match the [injury]\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t smooth like the sheet, the markings [on Epstein\u2019s neck] would have required a different type of material,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dr Baden also criticized the handling of the crime scene, saying that critical evidence was lost because of mistakes made with the handling of Epstein\u2019s body.<\/p>\n \u201c[They] moved the body, guards refused to say how the body was found, and he was moved to the infirmary,\u201d he said, which he added is a \u201chighly unusual\u201d move.<\/p>\n Most importantly, Dr. Baden says, Epstein\u2019s time of death was \u201clost\u201d \u2013 evidence, he said, that might have definitively helped rule out if his death was murder.<\/p>\n Federal authorities have maintained there is no evidence Epstein was murdered.<\/p>\n The post Epstein Autopsy Witness Challenges Suicide Finding: Injuries \u2018More Consistent\u2019 with \u2018Homocidal Strangulation\u2019 first appeared on Mediaite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n