A 4chan post may have leaked details of Jeffrey Epstein's death before it was made public

External view of the Manhattan Correctional Center where the US financier Jeffrey Epstein was found ...
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Impact

On August 10, billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide. But before the news broke to the public, a post on 4chan reported Epstein's death. Now, authorities are investigating the post to determine how the information leaked, according to BuzzFeed News.

The timeline of Epstein's death, as best as it is known, goes as follows: Sometime early in the morning of August 10, Epstein is believed to have died by suicide. The exact time of his death is unknown because, despite being placed on suicide watch, the understaffed Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York failed to provide officers to check on him every 30 minutes and did not give him a mandated cellmate companion. However, his body was discovered in his cell at 6:30 a.m. EDT. The first public acknowledgement of his death came from ABC reporter Aaron Katersky, who broke the news on Twitter at 8:54 a.m. EDT, nearly an hour and a half after Epstein was discovered.

At 8:16 a.m. EDT, 38 minutes before news broke of Epstein's death, a post on 4chan appeared to report it. “Dont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago," the post read. "Screencap this.” The post was accompanied with a picture of Pepe the frog, a popular meme that was co-opted by the alt-right. Additional posts from the user included details on procedures allegedly performed in an attempt to resuscitate Epstein after he was found.

The details of Epstein's death are yet to officially be confirmed, but the 4chan post appears to essentially be in line with what has been made public. NBC reported the method by which Epstein allegedly killed himself. CBS reported that corrections officers in the jail attempted to revive him and allegedly could be heard in his cell saying, "Breathe, Epstein, breathe." Those details all seem to align with the posts made on 4chan, though the actual details of Epstein's death won't be known until a final coroner's report is released to the public.

If the 4chan post proves to be correct, it suggests that someone with direct knowledge of the situation may have posted the details. According to BuzzFeed News, both the New York City Fire Department and an EMT union are investigating to determine if any of their workers may have been involved in the post.