Judge releases note purportedly written by Epstein

NEW YORK: A federal judge on Wednesday released a document described as a suicide note purportedly written by the late Jeffrey Epstein and including the line: “It is a treat to be able to choose ones time to say goodbye.”

Epstein, the disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 in what was ruled a suicide. The handwritten note was said to have been found by his former jail cellmate, convicted murderer and ex-police officer Nicholas Tartaglione.

US District Judge Kenneth Karas, who oversaw the Tartaglione case, released the note after a request by The New York Times, which reported its existence last week.

Karas ruled that the note qualified as a judicial document subject to the public’s right of access because it was submitted in connection with Tartaglione’s criminal case. Tartaglione is serving four consecutive life sentences for drug-related murders. Karas oversaw that case.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2026