Jeffrey Epstein lay in the fetal position on the floor of his jail cell, unresponsive, with an orange fabric noose tied around his neck. The post-midnight quiet of the Metropolitan Correctional Center's secure housing unit was punctured as a corrections officer called for help.

It was 1:27 a.m. on July 23, 2019, 18 days before Epstein's death . He was breathing, his eyes opening and shutting occasionally, but he wouldn't, or couldn't, respond to officers' questions and commands, according to a confidential corrections officers' memo obtained by CBS News. They hoisted inmate 76318-054 onto a stretcher.

Federal officials have repeatedly said Epstein's eventual death by suicide was foreshadowed by this earlier alleged attempt. Former Attorney General Bill Barr reiterated that cl

See Full Page