Guards' Lapses in Epstein's Death Caught on Video

0:00It's March 21st, and here's what's happening across entertainment and pop culture. New surveillance video has come to light showing the two guards watching Jeffrey Epstein on the night he died in a New York City jail back on August 10th 2019. Instead of conducting required checks every 30 minutes, officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas appear to wander casually nearby, chatting on, phones and jotting notes just feet from his cell. The footage captures them around 3.15 a.m. in the special housing unit, ignoring bright orange computer alerts that stressed constant. Monitoring since Epstein had just come off suicide watch, they skipped key rounds at 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. later faking logs to cover it up. Prison staff found Epstein unresponsive the next morning, around 6.30 a.m. During breakfast service, he had died by suicide sometime after 10. 30 p.m. the night before. The glaring oversights drew widespread outrage over lapses in a high profile case. Both guards faced charges, but got them dropped by a federal judge in 2021, and they were fired from their jobs.

1:06Noel recently testified before a House Oversight Committee, downplaying her own distractions like all-mind shopping and naps during her shift. Records also show she searched for updates on Epstein and jail twice that morning, around 5.42 and 5.52 a.m., despite her denials. This footage keeps fueling debates about accountability in the trouble facility where he spent his final hours.