Epstein's Prison Guard Made a Mysterious Deposit Before His Death – What Happened That Evening

The night Jeffrey Epstein died in federal custody has long been scrutinized. New records about a prison guard's internet search, financial deposits, and missing surveillance footage are adding details to the timeline.

A tense night inside one of America's most secure federal jails ended with a death that still echoes through the justice system. Newly released Justice Department documents now shed fresh light on the final hours before disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019.

What investigators uncovered paints a troubling picture. Missed security checks, internet browsing during a critical overnight shift, and mysterious cash deposits. Also, surveillance footage continues to raise uncomfortable questions.

Guards Accused of Browsing the Internet Instead of Monitoring Epstein

At the center of the scrutiny is correctional officer Tova Noel. She was on duty in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Correctional Center the night Epstein died. According to investigators, Noel later falsified records claiming that mandatory security checks had been carried out on the high-profile inmate.

Those checks were supposed to happen every 30 minutes, but prosecutors say they never did. Instead, Noel and another guard working the overnight shift — Michael Thomas — allegedly spent their time browsing the internet and resting. Noel reportedly shopped for furniture online while Thomas looked at motorcycles.

Both guards were eventually fired, and criminal charges were filed against them, but were later dropped. Federal investigators later examined prison computer activity and financial records as part of a wider review of what happened that night.

One digital detail immediately stood out. According to the documents, Noel searched Epstein's name online during the shift. The search was singled out in the FBI's 66-page forensic analysis of Bureau of Prisons computers used that night — the only search highlighted in the report.

When questioned during a sworn interview with the Justice Department in 2021, Noel said she didn't recall searching. "I don't remember doing that," she said, according to the transcript. She also questioned whether the FBI's records were accurate.

Mysterious Cash Deposits Raise New Questions

Investigators reviewing Noel's financial records also uncovered a string of cash deposits that drew further attention. The documents show multiple deposits beginning in April 2018. The largest — $5,000 — was made on July 30, 2019. That was about 10 days before Epstein's death.

Overall, seven deposits totaling $11,880 were recorded during the period covered by the available records. Noel had just begun working in the Special Housing Unit. She started in the unit on July 7, 2019, and Epstein was already being held there at the time.

Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage from inside the facility in an effort to reconstruct the timeline of events. An internal FBI briefing suggested Noel may have been the figure seen on video near Epstein’s tier at around 10:40 p.m. that night.

According to the briefing, a correctional officer believed to be Noel appeared to be carrying linen or inmate clothing toward the tier. Investigators noted this appeared to be the last time any officer approached the entrance to the area before the incident.

Blurry Figure on Surveillance Video Sparks Debate

Epstein was later found dead in his cell at 5:42 a.m. on August 10, 2019. Authorities ruled the death a suicide. In her sworn statement, Noel told investigators she last saw Epstein alive sometime after 10 p.m. She also insisted she never distributed linens or clothing to inmates, explaining that such tasks were typically handled by an earlier shift.

Further scrutiny of surveillance footage from the Special Housing Unit has raised additional questions about what happened that night. According to the inspector general’s report, a blurry orange shape can be seen moving up the stairs leading to Epstein's tier shortly before 10:40 p.m.

But video forensic experts who later reviewed the footage at the request of CBS News raised doubts about that conclusion. They suggested the shape could instead be a person wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.

The video evidence also contains a puzzling detail investigators have described as a "missing minute." The time counter on the footage runs normally until shortly before midnight. Suddenly, the counter jumps forward by one minute.

When the video resumes at 12 a.m., the image appears slightly different, with a subtle shift in the aspect ratio. Experts who reviewed the footage said the anomaly could indicate the video had been edited or reprocessed rather than presented in its original raw form.

During that missing minute, a staff member identified as a materials handler would have been finishing a shift that ran from 4 p.m. to midnight. The individual is believed to have left the unit around that time. Investigators said there is no evidence linking that action to Epstein's death.

Still, the unexplained gap complicates efforts to reconstruct the final timeline. Notably, the inspector general's report does not mention the missing minute. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously suggested the security system automatically reset each night, which could explain the gap.

But a government source familiar with the investigation told CBS News that unedited copies of the footage held by the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General do not contain the missing time. Why the publicly reviewed version appears to show that gap remains unclear.

An Unidentified Figure and Conflicting Accounts

Another detail in the footage has also drawn attention. At 12:05:48 a.m., an unidentified person appears to pass through the Special Housing Unit. The inspector general's report states that only two staff members entered the unit after midnight — a corrections officer identified as "CO3" and the morning watch operations lieutenant.

The report does not address the presence of a third individual seen in the video. Investigators also identified a possible discrepancy in Noel's own account of the evening. Noel told investigators she left Epstein alone in the shower area after he made a phone call using a line normally reserved for attorney communications.

She said she stepped away to use the restroom and that another staff member later escorted Epstein back to his cell. But surveillance footage appears to show Noel remaining in the unit and escorting Epstein toward the staircase that leads to his cell.

Another female staff member can be seen leaving the unit shortly before Epstein is escorted and returning shortly afterward. The timing of this sequence has drawn particular interest from investigators.

Epstein had been allowed to make an unmonitored phone call from the shower area. According to the report, the unit manager placed the call for him after Epstein said he wanted to speak with his mother. But his mother had died years earlier.

The manager dialed a New York City number beginning with the 646 area code, and a man answered the phone. The phone was then handed to Epstein before the manager left the area. The manager later contacted Noel and asked her to retrieve the phone.

The Bureau of Prisons’ Northeast regional director later said the call raised serious concerns. "We don't know what happened on that phone," the official said. "It could have potentially led to the incident, but we will never know."

Criminal Case Against Guards Ultimately Dropped

In 2021, federal prosecutors moved to end their criminal case against the two guards responsible for monitoring Epstein the night he died. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss the charges against Noel and Thomas.

The request came after both had completed the terms of the deferred prosecution agreements they signed in May of that year. Under those agreements, the guards were required to complete 100 hours of community service and cooperate with a federal investigation into Epstein's death.

Epstein — the financier who was facing federal sex trafficking charges — had been found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.

Investigators concluded that Noel and Thomas failed to perform the required checks on Epstein every 30 minutes during their overnight shift. Both guards admitted they had "willfully and knowingly" falsified official records indicating the checks had been completed.

Instead, prosecutors said the two spent their time browsing the internet and sleeping. At the time, then–U.S. Attorney General William Barr said he was deeply troubled that such a high-profile inmate could die while in federal custody. The case has continued to attract scrutiny in the years since.

The scrutiny surrounding Noel did not end with the investigation into Epstein's death. In 2023, she was sued for assault at a new job in New York City.

According to the complaint, Noel allegedly punched a colleague and pulled the person's ear during an incident at the workplace. The case added another chapter to the controversies that have followed her since the events surrounding Epstein's death.