A United States federal judge has released a handwritten document described as a suicide note purportedly written by late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The note included the line: “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.”
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in Manhattan in August 2019 in what authorities officially ruled a suicide.
The document was unsealed on Wednesday by Kenneth Karas after a request by The New York Times, which had reported on the note’s existence last week.
According to court records, the handwritten note was allegedly discovered by Epstein’s former jail cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer currently serving four consecutive life sentences for drug-related murders.
Judge Karas ruled that the document qualified as a judicial record because it had been submitted in connection with Tartaglione’s criminal case, making it subject to public access laws.
However, the judge clarified that the court was not confirming whether the note was authentic or evaluating how it was obtained.
Instead, he said those issues were unrelated to the legal question of whether the document should remain sealed.
“No party has identified any competing consideration that would justify sealing the Note,” Judge Karas ruled.
The handwritten message, reportedly written on a yellow legal pad, was filed in court by Tartaglione’s lawyers.
Tartaglione shared a cell with Epstein for about two weeks in July 2019 while both men were detained in Manhattan.
Parts of the note referenced Epstein’s legal troubles and included emotionally charged statements.
Reuters reported that the document contained remarks about investigations into Epstein and comments suggesting he wanted to control the timing of his death.
Epstein first pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor, a conviction that resulted in a controversial plea agreement and a short jail term.
He was arrested again in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking minors, with prosecutors accusing him of recruiting and abusing underage girls in New York and Florida.
The note reportedly surfaced after Epstein was found injured in his jail cell in July 2019 in what authorities later described as an apparent suicide attempt.
According to public accounts by Tartaglione, the note had been hidden inside a book in their shared jail cell.
Epstein later died on August 10, 2019, in a separate incident officially ruled a suicide.
The existence of the note gained wider attention after The New York Times reported that it had never been reviewed by federal investigators and was absent from previously released Epstein-related Justice Department documents.
In ordering the release of the document, Judge Karas dismissed privacy concerns, noting both Epstein’s death and the extensive public discussion surrounding the alleged note.
