Newly unearthed documents on Jeffrey Epstein raise fresh speculation about the jail guards monitoring the sex offender at the time of his death, showing that one guard Googled Epstein shortly before he was found dead. She was also reportedly flagged for making “suspicious” bank deposits in the months prior to his death.
Tova Noel, who later admitted to falsifying records about Epstein’s 2019 death, twice Googled “latest on Epstein in jail” in the hour before his body was discovered in a cell, a copy of her online history included in the files shows.
The former guard at New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center completed the online search at 5:42 a.m. local time and again at 5:52 a.m. on Aug. 10, according to the files. Epstein’s body was found by fellow guard Michael Thomas less than 40 minutes later, at 6:30 a.m.
Noel later denied Googling Epstein at work, telling authorities in a 2021 sworn statement to the DOJ, “I don’t remember doing that,” according to The Telegraph.
Both she and Thomas were charged with falsifying prison records to make it seem as though they had performed required checks on Epstein before he was found dead. Prosecutors later dropped the charges against them, citing a plea deal.
