PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: New Department of Justice documents reveal that a prison guard googled Jeffrey Epstein just minutes before he was found dead and made a $5,000 cash deposit 10 days prior to his death.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Tova Noel, one of two guards accused of falsifying records, and Michael Thomas, another correctional officer, were implicated in the events surrounding Epstein’s death.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The events occurred on August 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I don’t remember doing that,” Noel said when questioned about her internet searches on Epstein.
🎯IMPACT: The revelations have fueled ongoing questions and conspiracies surrounding Epstein’s death and the actions of those responsible for his supervision.
Newly released Department of Justice documents have revealed that Tova Noel, a prison guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, searched for Jeffrey Epstein online just minutes before he was discovered dead in his cell. The search occurred at 5:42 a.m. and again at 5:52 a.m., less than 40 minutes before Noel’s colleague, Michael Thomas, found Epstein hanging in his cell at 6:30 a.m.
Noel, who was accused of falsifying records stating she had checked on Epstein throughout the night, denied making the search during a sworn statement in 2021. “I don’t remember doing that,” she said, adding that the FBI’s records were “not accurate.” The FBI highlighted the search in its 66-page forensic examination of the prison computers used by Noel and Thomas.
Additional scrutiny has been placed on a $5,000 cash deposit made to Noel’s bank account 10 days before Epstein’s death. Chase Bank flagged the deposit, along with 11 others totaling $11,880, in a suspicious activity report filed with the FBI. Noel, who began working in the Special Housing Unit where Epstein was held in July 2019, was not questioned about the deposits during her interview with the DOJ.
The FBI also identified Noel as the likely individual seen in a blurry surveillance video near Epstein’s cell at 10:40 p.m. on the night of his death. The video reportedly shows a person carrying linen or inmate clothing, which Epstein allegedly used to hang himself. Noel denied providing any linens to Epstein, stating, “I never gave out linen — ever,” and claimed she last saw him alive “somewhere around after 10.”
The findings have reignited questions and conspiracy theories surrounding the circumstances of Epstein’s death. Despite the troubling revelations, criminal charges against Noel and Thomas were dropped in December 2021. Noel has since faced additional legal trouble, including a lawsuit in Westchester County Supreme Court for alleged assault at her current job.
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