Nearly forty minutes before it was first reported, a 4Chan user claimed to have knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s death.
Posting at 8:54 a.m, August 10, alongside an image of Pepe the Frog, the anonymous individual stated Epstein had ‘died an hour ago’. After being questioned by commenters, the 4Chan user added further – currently unverified – details about Epstein’s death in a series of six posts.
One of the posts claimed medics had attempted to resuscitate Epstein for about 40 minutes before transporting him to hospital, where medical personnel tried to revive him for a further 20 minutes.
As reported by Buzzfeed News, the thread was first discovered by Barcelona developer Konrad Iturbe, who had been researching online conspiracies about Epstein.
The original post read:
[D]ont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this.
A follow-up post continued:
Pt transported to Lower Manhattan ER and worked for 20 minutes and called. Hospital administrator was alerted, preparing statements.
Information which has been publicly released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons appears to partially match up with this account, leading to some speculating this individual could have been a first responder, medical worker or another such person who would have had access to these details.
However, emergency medicine physician, Dr. Keith Wesley, has informed Buzzfeed News the post sets out ‘standard American Heart Association guidelines’ used by ‘most EMS agencies’.
Dr. Wesley told Buzzfeed News:
Telemetry implies the paramedics were in contact with a medical control hospital who then gave orders to give Sodium Bicarbonate, bicarb which is designed to reverse the acid buildup in the blood from prolonged cardiac arrest.
If one of the medics posted this separately that’s a breach of protocol, if there was identifying information on the patient, that is a violation of Federal HIPPA law.
As reported by Buzzfeed News, The New York City Fire Department are currently looking into the post.
An FDNY spokesperson told Buzzfeed News the post did not come from a FDNY employee, with the possibility already having been ruled out:
An investigation is a formal act which brings about a process which includes interviewing witnesses, serving notice, determining credibility of witness statements — and that was not warranted nor did it take place here.
This determination was made after a review of the incident. We looked at the information provided by [a BuzzFeed News] reporter and we looked at our own records and there was no match, […] It doesn’t match our medical records.
Convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell from an apparent suicide just two weeks after he was placed on suicide watch.
At the time of his death, the 66-year-old disgraced financier was being held without bail pending trial on child sex-trafficking charges.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.