Professor Plans to Share New Findings on Jeffrey Epstein's Death

A professor who studies forensic medicine — the science of using medical knowledge to solve legal questions — has reviewed the autopsy records of Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was a wealthy and powerful man who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on serious federal charges. The official finding was that he died by suicide. Now, the professor says his research raises new questions about that conclusion, and he plans to share his findings publicly in November.

The professor, Michael Freeman, is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. He teaches at Oregon Health & Science University and at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Freeman plans to present his research at University College London on November 16. After that, he says he will publish his findings along with autopsy files from the New York City Medical Examiner's office.

Freeman got those autopsy files from Epstein's brother, Mark Epstein. Mark Epstein told CBS News that Freeman's work has made him believe his brother's death needs to be looked into more carefully. 'The cause on Jeffrey's original death certificate — they further studied it in detail; this kind of study hasn't been done before,' Mark Epstein said. He also said the professor did the research on his own, not because the family asked him to.

Freeman's review points out several things that he says make Epstein's death investigation unusual for a suicide case. For one, there were no photographs taken of Epstein's body at the scene where he was found. Also, the ligature — which is the material, like a rope or sheets, used in a hanging — was never saved or fully examined. In Epstein's case, investigators said bed sheets were used.

Freeman also looked at what he called a 'biomechanical analysis' of how the ligature was tied and used. He also reviewed images that he says show injuries that the medical examiner never explained. So far, Freeman has not said exactly what his conclusions are. The Times, a British newspaper, was the first to report on his upcoming presentation.

Freeman said clearly that the death was either a suicide or a murder, and he will explain the evidence for both sides at his lecture. His past work includes helping review the medical examiner's office in the state of Maryland. His findings come at a time when many people around the world are interested in Epstein and the powerful people who knew him.

Epstein died in August 2019 while being held in a federal jail in New York City. He was facing charges for sex trafficking of minors, meaning he was accused of abusing and exploiting young people. In 2025, the U.S. government passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which forced the Department of Justice to release a large number of investigation records about Epstein and the people around him.

In May 2025, a federal judge ordered the release of what appeared to be a suicide note from Epstein. The note was written less than a month before his death. It had been sealed as part of a separate murder case involving Epstein's former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer who was convicted of killing four people. The note was released after The New York Times asked for it in court.

Tartaglione said in a podcast interview that he found the note inside a book the morning after Epstein's death. He said he gave the note to his lawyers. The note appears to say things like 'time to say goodbye' and 'No fun — not worth it!!' CBS News has not been able to independently confirm that the note is real. The case continues to attract attention from people around the world who want to know the truth about what happened.