Epstein Guard Googled Him Just Minutes Before Death, DOJ Records Show

Newly released Department of Justice records are shedding additional light on the final hours before financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead inside a federal jail cell in 2019, including internet searches conducted by one of the prison guards assigned to monitor him, as reported by The New York Post.

According to documents obtained from the Department of Justice, correctional officer Tova Noel conducted internet searches about Epstein less than an hour before he was discovered dead inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on Aug. 10, 2019.

Epstein, the disgraced financier facing federal sex trafficking charges at the time, was found hanging in his cell at approximately 6:30 a.m. that morning by fellow correctional officer Michael Thomas.

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FBI forensic records of Noel’s computer activity show that she searched “latest on Epstein in jail” at 5:42 a.m., and again at 5:52 a.m., roughly 40 minutes before Thomas discovered Epstein’s body.

The searches were identified in a 66-page FBI forensic examination of Bureau of Prisons desktop computers used by Noel and Thomas during their shift. The search for Epstein was the only query highlighted in the report.

Noel and Thomas were later accused of falsifying prison records to indicate they had performed required inmate checks during the overnight shift before Epstein’s death.

Both guards were fired from their positions. However, criminal charges filed against the two officers were eventually dropped.

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Prosecutors previously said that during the overnight shift, Noel had been browsing furniture online and sleeping rather than performing mandatory checks on inmates every 30 minutes.

At the same time, Thomas had reportedly been looking at motorcycles online.

During a sworn interview with the Department of Justice in 2021, Noel denied conducting the internet searches related to Epstein.

“I don’t remember doing that,” she said, according to a transcript of the interview. She also told investigators that the FBI’s records were not correct, stating, “I don’t recall looking him up.”

Noel also claimed during her statement that failure to perform regular rounds was common practice at the facility.

“I’ve never worked in the Special Housing Unit and actually done rounds every 30 minutes,” Noel told investigators.

Separate documents released by the Department of Justice show that financial activity involving Noel’s bank account had been flagged by Chase Bank and reported to the FBI in a suspicious activity report filed in November 2019.

Bank records show a series of 12 cash deposits beginning in April 2018. The largest of those deposits was for $5,000 and was made on July 30, 2019 — just 10 days before Epstein’s death.

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