'Inmate' Alleges Prison Guards Discussed Covering Up Jeffrey Epstein's Death: DOJ Files

'Inmate' Alleges Prison Guards Discussed Covering Up Jeffrey Epstein's Death: DOJ Files Epstein files reveal FBI notes seemingly containing testimony from an "inmate" housed in the same unit as Jeffrey Epstein on the day he died who claimed that prison guards discussed how they would cover up the convicted pedophile's death By Chris Spargo Chris Spargo Chris Spargo is a senior reporter at PEOPLE who joined the crime team in 2025. Chris is an Emmy-winning journalist who previously worked at Inside Edition and Daily Mail. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 10, 2026 02:29PM EDT Leave a Comment Jeffrey Epstein. Credit : Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty "If he is dead, we’re going to cover it up and he’s going to have an alibi, my officers." That statement was allegedly made by a guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on the morning Jeffrey Epstein died, according to a handwritten note released as part of the Epstein files containing testimony from an inmate who claimed they were held in the same special housing unit as Epstein. According to the handwritten notes, the comment was made after the guards were accused of killing the convicted pedophile as they distributed breakfast on the morning of his death. Later in that note, the interviewee claimed that inmates began to spread the word that, "Miss Noel killed Jeffrey." "Miss Noel" likely refers to Tova Noel, the female guard who was working the night of Epstein's death and was later fired for allegedly falsifying records to make it appear that she had done the required nightly rounds. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. In her own interview with the FBI, a transcript of which PEOPLE obtained, it's revealed that she had Google searched Epstein on a prison computer just prior to his death. However, she said she had no memory of this, while also stating she did not know who Epstein was before being assigned to the special housing unit. "No? Does it surprise you to hear that you know internet searches would show that that's what you were doing from 5:42 to 5:52 a.m. on August 10, 2019?" the agent asked Noel, per the transcript. She responded it would be a surprise, and later added: "It wouldn't be accurate." Noel does confirm in that interview that she was the last person to see Epstein alive or speak to him, when he asked her to plug in his CPAP machine. She said her fellow guard found Epstein unresponsive in his cell the following morning and began to perform CPR. "Breathe, Epstein, breathe!" Noel recalled the other guard saying as he tried to revive Epstein. She alleged that guard then told her: "We're going to be in so much trouble." Our new app is here! Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now! The two were criminally charged with falsifying records, but those charges were later dropped. Neither Noel nor the other guard have ever been a suspect or charged with any crime related to Epstein's death. The billionaire financier died by apparent suicide almost a month after he was arrested for allegedly sex-trafficking girls as young as 14, PEOPLE previously reported. He was 66 years old. Close Leave a Comment Read more: Crime Crime News