The New York City medical examiner who conducted Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy did not quickly label his 2019 jail death as a suicide. She wanted more investigative details before making a final decision, according to a recently released transcript under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Dr. Kristin Roman, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, stated in a sworn interview in 2022 that she initially recorded Epstein’s manner of death as “pending studies” instead of suicide or homicide.
Roman mentioned that this delay represented caution due to the high profile of the case and the chance that others might have wanted Epstein dead. “If he had been a less high-profile person who there weren’t people wanting to kill, I would have probably called it a hanging on the day of autopsy,” Roman said in the transcript published Monday by Business Insider.
Epstein, a financier awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, was found dead in a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019. New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Barbara Sampson, concluded several days later that Epstein died by suicide. Reuters reported at the time that the official ruling was suicide. The Justice Department inspector general later stated that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined both the cause and manner of death in the same way.
Roman stated in her interview that by the time she completed her review, the case seemed “pretty clear cut” to her. She told investigators she wanted photographs of the cell and other context before finalizing the ruling, including details from staff who found Epstein. Roman said she could not speak directly to correctional officers or inspect the cell herself, but she reviewed photographs and maintained that these limitations did not affect her final conclusion.
The transcript also addresses one of the longest disputes in the case: injuries to Epstein’s neck that outside pathologist Dr. Michael Baden has cited as inconsistent with suicide. Baden, who observed the autopsy on behalf of Epstein’s brother and estate, has claimed for years that the findings indicate homicide. Roman disagreed, saying in the interview that the injuries she observed were consistent with suicide and not with manual strangulation.
Sampson defended the office’s conclusion in 2019 after Baden publicly questioned it. The Associated Press reported that Sampson said she stood “firmly” behind the suicide ruling.
Roman also admitted uncertainty about some of the physical evidence collected from the jail scene, including which item retrieved from the cell was most likely involved. Still, she said this issue did not change her medical conclusion. Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, continued to reject the suicide ruling after reviewing the newly public transcript, telling Business Insider he still believed his brother was killed.
The newly released interview adds detail to a case that has faced public doubt for years, fueled by Epstein’s wealth, his ties to powerful figures, and documented failures at the federal jail where he was held. A 2023 Justice Department inspector general report examined the Bureau of Prisons’ actions related to Epstein’s detention and death while reaffirming New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
With Roman’s account now public, the main medical finding remains the same, even as discussions about the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death continue to spark conspiracy theories.
