MCC Inmate Witness Interviews — Epstein Death Investigation

14 Witness Interviews from FBI Case 90A-NY-3151227, Exposed Through Multimodal Image Analysis of Handwritten Proffer Notes That OCR Could Not Read

Executive Summary

Between August 16 and September 10, 2019, the FBI and DOJ Office of Inspector General interviewed 14 inmates who were housed in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) of the Metropolitan Correctional Center when Jeffrey Epstein died on August 10, 2019. The interviews were recorded as proffer agreements and FD-302 reports under FBI case number 90A-NY-3151227.

These interviews have been publicly available in the EFTA corpus since January 30, 2026 — but effectively invisible. The substantive content of most interviews is in handwritten AUSA proffer notes that standard OCR cannot read. Of the 35 handwritten pages across all interviews, the text extraction pipeline captured an average of 28 characters per page. The interviews might as well not exist for anyone searching the database by keyword.

Julie K. Brown first surfaced one of these interviews in her March 7, 2026 reporting for the Miami Herald and her Substack, identifying three quotes from the Rayshaun Jones proffer. This investigation used multimodal image analysis — rendering each page at 300-400 DPI and reading the handwritten text visually — to recover the full content of all 14 interviews. The results reveal:

• Systematic guard negligence predating Epstein's death — multiple inmates independently confirm that overnight counts were routinely skipped, guards slept on duty wrapped in blankets, and 30-minute rounds simply did not happen. This was not a one-night failure.
• A detailed minute-by-minute account of the discovery from Johnny Contreras, the inmate with direct line of sight to Epstein's cell, including the guard's failed attempt to lift the body, his exclamation of "Fuck!", and a female guard who said she had "pressed the button a long time ago."
• One textual difference between Brown's published version of the Jones quotes and the handwritten source: Brown wrote "he's going to have an alibi" where the notes say "she's going to have an alibi" — a distinction discussed in Part VII.
• Epstein's cellmate Efrain Reyes caught Epstein fiddling with a clothesline on Reyes's bed days before the death — and told him to stop. Reyes died in 2020; an AUSA noted "you're correct that we didn't need his testimony."
• A guard told inmates on an elevator: "Let him kill himself... We don't care either way" — the day before Epstein died.
• Increased shredding confirmed by the Warden's orderly: "a little more shredded trash than usual, maybe 2 days more."
• A complete inventory of all 14 inmates with serial numbers, tier assignments, and interview dates — recovered from an FBI master index page (EFTA00161492).

Three interviews (Sanchez-Galan, Caraballo, Mojica) exist in the corpus only as typed cover sheets; their handwritten AUSA notes are referenced but not included in any published bundle.

The 14 Inmates

Source: EFTA00161492 (FBI master index of all death investigation inmate interviews).

L-Tier Layout

The SHU's L-Tier on the 9th floor south is where Epstein was housed. Cell assignments on the night of August 9-10, 2019:

       ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
       │           GUARD DESK                 │
       │  (visible from Cell 220 window)      │
       ├────────┬────────┬────────┬───────────┤
LEFT   │Contreras│       │        │           │  RIGHT
SIDE   │(1st L) │       │        │           │  SIDE
       ├────────┼────────┼────────┼───────────┤
       │        │ Cell   │ Cell   │ Cell 220  │
       │        │  213   │  215   │ EPSTEIN   │
       │        │ Santos │Jimenez │ (alone    │
       │        │ Felix  │        │ since 8/9)│
       ├────────┼────────┼────────┼───────────┤
       │        │        │ Cell   │           │
       │        │        │  218   │  SHOWER   │
       │        │        │(empty) │           │
       └────────┴────────┴────────┴───────────┘

Cell 218 (Fernandez) was empty the night of the death — Fernandez had been removed to the dry room on August 9 after a contraband bust. Reyes, Epstein's cellmate, was released from Cell 220 earlier on August 9. Epstein was alone in Cell 220 for the first time.

Contreras, in the first cell on the left, had line of sight to all right-side cells, the guard desk, and the G/H tier area. Santos Felix (213) and Jimenez (215) were positioned between Contreras and Epstein.

Part I: What the Inmates Saw

The Night Before (August 9, 2019)

Efrain Reyes — Epstein's cellmate — was the last inmate to share a cell with Epstein. His 9-page proffer (EFTA00126106) contains the most detailed account of Epstein's final days.

On Thursday night, August 8, Reyes described Epstein in a good mood:

"Thursday night JE was in a good mood. He got 2 kosher meals. They shared. Said 'damn you fucked me bro' & JE says that shit is not beef but its filet. Joked the whole night. Offered hugs and JE said no. Joked until 1am."

The next morning, Friday August 9, Reyes was transferred out. He told Epstein: "don't worry you're going to be alright, they won't put you w/ a young guy." A guard known as "Munchie" brought Epstein to his legal visit and Reyes to R&D for processing.

Before leaving, a psychologist came to check on Epstein. Reyes recalled:

"She asked JE if he felt like hurting himself... ER asked why didn't you go to suicide watch? JE said he would love to go but they don't keep you there more than 3 days."

That same day, Christian Perez encountered Epstein during a lawyer visit. Perez saw Epstein "speaking w/ woman/attorney (black hair, light skin), face was red + looks mad." On the elevator afterward, Perez told guards: "you better take that man out of there or he's going to kill himself." (EFTA00126115)

The guards' response:

"He's going to kill himself no matter what and he's gotta pay for what he did, he's going to kill himself anyway... We don't care either way. Let him kill himself."

Johnny Contreras noted that the evening before the death, Epstein was taken to J-Tier after his lawyer visit, then brought back to his cell. He also observed that "both Ep + cell mate left @ same time" — Reyes's removal and Epstein's movement happened simultaneously. (EFTA00132208 pp.175-176)

The Night of August 9-10

Rayshaun Jones, in the first cell on the right in H-Tier, provided the most detailed chronology of the overnight hours. (EFTA00126075)

Officer Noel came by around 10pm to do a count. Jones asked for the lights to be turned off, and she complied. Around midnight, inmates were kicking their doors and yelling, asking for lights to be turned off.

"New officer comes in. She told [him] not to do rounds. Other guys on tier said [it's lazy], she just want to watch. RJ said you should have gotten your light turned off. She said it loud enough for everyone to hear."

After the new officer arrived at midnight, a fan was turned on that blocked out noise. Jones dozed off and on.

Corey Latimer corroborated this from L-Tier, reporting that Jones had overheard Noel tell Thomas "you're not doing the rounds tonight" after the 9:30 count. Jones "repeated it to the unit" — echoes carry in the SHU. (EFTA00126081)

Christian Perez separately confirmed: "They d/n do the 10pm count... Went to sleep 3/4 am. Guards d/n do count the whole time."

Contreras: "Count done a little before 12am, none conducted after 12am."

Santos Felix: Last check "sometime between 12:30AM - 1:00AM." After that, nothing.

The Discovery (~6:30 AM, August 10)

Johnny Contreras was the closest conscious witness with direct line of sight to Epstein's cell. His handwritten proffer notes provide the clearest account of the discovery:

A guard — described consistently across witnesses as a shorter Black male with close-cut hair — knocked on Epstein's cell door, looked in, and entered. Contreras could only see Epstein's legs from the knee down: "laying down, on back (feet pointed up)."

The guard "bent down to shake + 'wake him up' saying 'Epstein, Epstein.'"

The guard tried to pick up Epstein from behind, arms wrapped around him — both fell back to the floor.

The guard began chest compressions. Then: "Fuck!"

He asked the female guard near the L-Tier gate if she'd pressed the emergency button. She said: "Yeah, a long time ago."

A lieutenant and male nurse arrived and tried to revive Epstein. "Nothing was happening — already dead."

"No one could pick up → dead weight → onto stretcher."

(EFTA00132208 pp.173-176)

Three inmates independently noted that Epstein still had headphones on when placed on the stretcher. Santos Felix: "victim had earphones that were still in place when being removed by EMS." Contreras: "EPSTEIN still had headphones on." (EFTA00126118, EFTA00132208)

Santos Felix observed: "the rope was not over his (JEFF's) head" and "guards had the rope in hand and defibrillator." He "did not see marks on JEFF's neck but did see bruising to the face." (EFTA00126118)

Contreras separately noted: "No marks around EPSTEIN's neck; no rope around neck visible." He described the ligature as "a sheet, loop + knot." His cellmate commented: "EPSTEIN didn't hang himself because he didn't have the typical injuries." (EFTA00132208)

Edward Jimenez, in Cell 215, heard "possibly a male voice saying 'breathe'" around 6AM but could not see inside Epstein's cell — only the door. (EFTA00130149 pp.180-181)

After the discovery, a lieutenant covered the cell windows and brought dividers to block views "from his cell and cameras." (EFTA00132208)

The Aftermath

As word spread through the SHU, inmates reacted. Latimer recalled: "People start yelling 'he's dead, they fucked up' — saying it's all female officer's fault." (EFTA00126081)

Jones described the breakfast walkthrough:

"When they were walking through w/ breakfast... 'dudes' said 'you killed [him].'"

A female officer responded: "If he is dead we're going to cover it up and she's going to have an alibi, my officers."

"Whole tier heard that + replicated/imitated convo."

"When people came through (migrants) inmates said 'Miss Noel killed Jeffrey.'"

(EFTA00126075)

Perez confirmed hearing the accusation from a different tier: "On Saturday night, after he was confirmed dead, someone on M-tier was yelling 'Ms. Noel is a murderer.'" (EFTA00126094)

Part II: Systemic Guard Negligence

The most consistent finding across all interviews is that guard negligence was systemic and predated Epstein's death. This was not a single night of failures by two rogue officers.

Before Epstein Died

Reyes (cellmate, 5 months in SHU): "Before Epstein came, no one did 30 min checks; officers sleep at night... Have seen officers w/ orange blankets wrapped around them sleeping." (EFTA00126106)

Latimer (multiple tiers): "They supposed to do 30-min checks overnight and they never do it. Stay up until 1:30/2 generally and they don't do any checks. Don't see anyone walking after 9:30 check — next time they come around is 6:30 breakfast." (EFTA00126081)

Jones (H-Tier): "Never saw rounds after midnight before JE death... Noel — never did a round. Dudes walking, let her sit down." (EFTA00126075)

Arroyo (K-Tier, previously L-Tier): "Guards d/n always do count overnight, they mostly did it, but not all the time. But d/n do rounds." A specific guard — "short, dark skinned, beard, mid weight" — "usually naps overnight." Guards were "on computer, sometimes sleeping. Heard phone ring but no one to answer." (EFTA00132684 pp.40-42)

DeLeon (L-Tier): "At night, guards put music, smoke pipe, on computer. Can hear music." (EFTA00126068)

Santos Felix: Guards "never did their rounds/checks as they were supposed to." (EFTA00126118)

After Epstein Died

Every witness described an immediate transformation:

Latimer: "After JE died they started doing everything right — doing 30 min rounds, counts." (EFTA00126081)

DeLeon: "After he died, guards treated people better, food is better. Guards listened to inmates now. Come by every 15 min - 1/2 hour." (EFTA00126068)

Jones: "After Epstein died, they have a pad right by RJ door. Then have to sign when they do counts — they're doing rounds." (EFTA00126075)

Perez: "They just started doing rounds after Epstein died." (EFTA00126094)

Noel Specifically

Reyes — the cellmate — offered a more nuanced view of Noel than other inmates:

"Noel d/n see sleep — she seems serious... watched Noel, she d/n sleep, she's the A man, one has the key w/ slot key, one opens tier, the other goes in tier — she was the one who would open."

But he also noted: "Once Noel worked w/ [REDACTED], she did 30-min check overnight only 1-2x at night." (EFTA00126106)

Arroyo observed it was the "first time seeing Noel work overnight in box. Scans like a nice person." — suggesting Noel was relatively new to overnight SHU duty. (EFTA00132684)

Part III: Epstein's State of Mind

The July 23 Incident

Reyes provided the most direct account of the July 23 incident, contradicting the prevailing narrative:

"JE said killer cop d/n attack him. He had no problems. They d/n talk much."

And:

"JE said he d/n try to kill himself but they said they saw marks on his neck."

(EFTA00126106)

Latimer heard a different version from other inmates: "Epstein told his bunkie to strangle him and he was going to pay him." (EFTA00126081)

Protection Payments

Reyes described a protection payment system:

"You tried to off yourself, why, you got money, you can pay for protection, he said no. That [would be] an option. He was in the house I [live] and they said you gotta pay 5k in each acct."

Reyes believed Epstein was paying guards: "Oh thinks JE was paying guards. They were doing minimal." Epstein put $200 on Reyes's commissary books three days before Reyes left. Epstein had privileges no one else got — five blankets, three real pens, razor clips. "JE would ask CO for things & if they say no he would write down name + say I'll tell my lawyer — everyone on eggshells." (EFTA00126106)

The Clothesline Incident

Days before his death, Reyes caught Epstein doing something concerning:

"One night JE caught fiddling with clothesline on ER's bed. ER said what you trying to do — saw [excess/ropes] on outside. Said bro we not doing this."

Epstein claimed he was just trying to fix something. Reyes told him directly: "Don't hang yourself up in my cell. Don't try to kill yourself in this cell. I don't want to wake up and you dead." Epstein replied: "Don't worry, I'm never going to cause you trouble." (EFTA00126106)

Reyes's assessment: "Believe he wanted to get COs comfortable w/ not seeing him so he could kill himself."

Despair

Epstein told Reyes: "They turned me to the wolves." And: "I know I'm never going to be the same again, this isn't no way to live. I know I gotta be in the box and this ain't no way to live." (EFTA00126106)

Latimer: "Everyone knew JE wanted to kill himself on SHU — people gossiping about it." And: "JE wanted to die and offered his bunkies $$ to kill [him]. When he had marks on neck, [he] denied that he did it." (EFTA00126081)

Part IV: Officer Misconduct Beyond Noel and Thomas

Thomas and Contraband

Perez described a contraband pipeline involving Officer Thomas:

"Thomas works in laundry. Heard he brings in contraband w/ the cadres."

Two cadres were identified by first name (Chris on K-Tier, Mike on L-Tier) who "work in laundry. They deal in cigarettes and K2." Cellphones cost $3,500 to $7,000. Payment via CashApp, Western Union, or MoneyGram. (EFTA00126094)

Arroyo corroborated smuggling methods from his L-Tier stint: people used gate passes, and "people who run garbage bring it in. Officers don't search them, just a little pat-down." (EFTA00132684)

Thomas and Suicidal Inmates

Perez described Thomas's response to another inmate's suicide threat:

"Thomas responded to inmate Marc Webster's threatened suicide w/ Lt. [REDACTED] — as rough + has a bad [reputation] for inmates. Thomas + [REDACTED] tossed the cell at Webster + were rough w/ him."

(EFTA00126094)

Jones described a similar pattern from a different officer: when Jones told a guard "I want to do it again" (referring to self-harm), the guard responded: "I'll fuck you up." Jones also witnessed a lieutenant plant drugs on inmates twice. (EFTA00126075)

Guards Laughing at Suicide

Latimer: "On H + L tier — when people said I'm having suicide/thoughts — guards laughing. But that changed after JE died." (EFTA00126081)

Sexual Misconduct

Latimer reported: "Few counselors + female officers — having sex w/ inmates." He identified "Miss Black" as having "sex w/ inmate in her house." (EFTA00126081)

Part V: The Shredding Question

Steven Lopez, the Warden's orderly and garbage collector, was interviewed specifically about an FBI tip alleging "sensitive documents were shredded in an attempt to cover-up or hide issues relating to inmate EPSTEIN." (EFTA00126086)

Lopez denied knowledge of any cover-up. But when asked about rumors regarding Epstein and trash, he acknowledged:

"There was a little more shredded trash than usual, maybe 2 days more."

His handwritten notes confirm: "A little more than shreds than usual. 2 days, possibly more than usual."

Part VI: The Cellmate Gap

Leonardo Fernandez occupied Cell 218 — directly adjacent to Epstein's Cell 220. On Friday, August 9, Fernandez received a visit from his girlfriend Tyrelyshanti Criag. He was suspected of receiving contraband, placed in the dry room for approximately 25 hours, and moved to K-Tier Cell 111. (EFTA00130149 p.491)

Reyes, Epstein's cellmate in Cell 220, was also transferred out on August 9.

By the night of August 9, the two cells closest to Epstein — his own (220, now solo) and the adjacent cell (218, now empty) — had both lost their occupants on the same day. Fernandez's removal was a routine contraband bust. Reyes's transfer had been planned. But the result was the same: Epstein was more isolated than at any previous point in his SHU stay.

Part VII: Brown's Reporting and the Source Notes

Julie K. Brown's March 7, 2026 reporting — "Prison guards discussed cover-up of Epstein's death" (Miami Herald, syndicated) and "DOJ docs, FBI interview, raise new questions about Epstein's 'suicide'" (Substack) — was the first reporting to surface the content of these handwritten proffer notes. Brown identified three quotes from the Jones interview that had been buried in the EFTA corpus behind OCR failures — the same problem this investigation set out to solve across all 14 interviews.

All 16 of Brown's factual claims — guard charges, medical examiner findings, Baden's conclusions, bank records, internet searches — were confirmed against source documents. Brown also correctly identified the Santos Felix proffer as containing 5 handwritten pages (EFTA00126118 pages 3-7), though the full document is 7 pages (2 typed + 5 handwritten).

Our multimodal transcription of the full Jones proffer (EFTA00126075 page 5) identified one textual difference between Brown's published version and the handwritten source:

The pronoun in the second quote matters for interpretation. In the handwritten source, a female officer says Noel will "have an alibi" — which reads as Noel covering for her own failure to do rounds. With "he's" instead of "she's," the quote could be read as a conspiracy to conceal Epstein's death. The handwriting is difficult — this may be a transcription ambiguity rather than an editorial choice. Readers can verify the source directly at EFTA00126075 page 5.

Part VIII: Efrain Reyes's Death

Reyes, Epstein's cellmate and the most detailed witness, died in 2020. Two AUSA email chains document the notification:

EFTA00019925: "Just learned from Probation that Efrain Reyes died." The responding AUSA wrote: "Sorry to hear that. You're correct that we didn't need his testimony."

EFTA00017827: A second chain. The response: "That's really sad."

Reyes's criminal case was 1:18-cr-00454-KPF before Judge Failla. A 47-page OIG interview (EFTA00117078) documented his transfer paperwork. A BOP attorney had deposited funds into Reyes's commissary account "for unknown reasons."

Methodology

Why These Interviews Were Invisible

The EFTA corpus contains 2.91 million pages of extracted text. Standard OCR works well on typed documents but fails catastrophically on handwriting. Across the 35 handwritten pages in these 14 interviews, the text extraction pipeline captured an average of 28 characters per page — rendering them unsearchable. A keyword search for "Noel" or "rounds" or "breathe" returns zero hits from these pages.

The 132,505 pages in the corpus with fewer than 20 extracted characters (4.8% of the total) represent a systematic blind spot. The inmate interviews are among the most consequential documents hidden within it.

Recovery Method

Each document was downloaded from justice.gov and rendered at 300-400 DPI using pdf2image. The resulting PNG images were read using multimodal vision analysis, which can interpret handwriting that defeats OCR. Key quotes were transcribed verbatim, with redaction blocks marked as [REDACTED] and unclear words marked with [?].

All renders are preserved for verification.

Cross-References

This report draws on 14 primary interview documents plus the following supporting materials:

Related Reports

This investigation intersects with several other reports in this repository:

Report generated March 8, 2026. All EFTA citations verified against the full text corpus database and linked to justice.gov source documents.