Experts Say Newly Unsealed Epstein Note Matches Earlier Jail Grievance Letter
Three independent forensic document examiners told the Associated Press on May 9, 2026, that a newly unsealed handwritten note linked to Jeffrey Epstein likely matches an earlier jail grievance letter.[1]
The examiners — Thomas Vastrick, Bart Baggett and Grace Warmbier — cited identical spacing, letter shapes, capital-letter use, an underlined "NO FUN" and matching double exclamation marks as signs of common authorship.[1] Warmbier compared the samples to handwriting by Epstein's former cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione and ruled him out as the writer, while Vastrick said Tartaglione's writing varied enough that he could not yet be fully eliminated.[1] U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered the note unsealed on May 6 after The New York Times sought its release in Tartaglione's federal case.[2]
On July 23, 2019, Epstein suffered a suspected suicide attempt at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, and Tartaglione says he found the note afterward.[3] The document had been filed under seal in Tartaglione's case and kept in a courthouse vault for years rather than appearing in Bureau of Prisons records.[3] The court-released page includes lines such as "They investigated me — Found Nothing!!!" and "It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye." CBS News
Early coverage of the unsealed note emphasized that reporters had not independently verified its authorship and that it did not appear in official prison records.[4] Later reporting, led by an AP-based forensic analysis, linked the newly released page to a previously public grievance letter and pressed renewed questions about the Justice Department's incident timeline in Epstein's 2019 jail stay.[1] Epstein's brother has called the note a forgery, and social media debate over its origin has intensified, leaving formal authentication as the next step.
Mainstream coverage frames the unsealed note as a significant piece of evidence linking to Epstein's earlier grievances, but Steve Sailer argues that the note's provenance and authenticity are crucial elements that demand scrutiny. He emphasizes that the timing and chain of custody raise questions about the credibility of Nicholas Tartaglione, who claims to have found the note, suggesting that rushing to conclusions based on media narratives could mislead the public. The summary above does not mention these critical concerns regarding the note's origins and the implications of its unsealing, which could alter our understanding of Epstein's death and the circumstances surrounding it.
Additionally, while the mainstream summary includes details about the forensic analysis of the handwriting, it overlooks the broader context of Epstein's incarceration. For instance, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was held, was closed in 2021 due to severe conditions, which raises questions about the facility's ability to manage high-profile inmates safely. This context is essential for understanding the systemic issues that may have contributed to Epstein's death and the subsequent handling of evidence related to it.[5]
Show source details & analysis (7 sources)
📊 Relevant Data
The Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where Jeffrey Epstein was held, was closed by the Justice Department in August 2021 due to severe conditions including infrastructure decay and staffing issues, and it has remained closed as of 2026.
Justice Dept. to Close N.Y.C. Jail Where Jeffrey Epstein Died — The New York Times
The number of suicides in federal prisons increased by 61% from 2001 to 2019.
Suicide in Local Jails and State and Federal Prisons, 2000–2019 – Statistical Tables — Bureau of Justice Statistics
📌 Key Facts
- On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered the public release of a handwritten note that Nicholas Tartaglione says he found after Jeffrey Epstein’s July 23, 2019 suspected suicide attempt (Judge Kenneth Karas).
- The document had been filed under seal in Tartaglione's criminal case and kept in a courthouse vault for years rather than appearing in official Bureau of Prisons records or earlier government reports (Tartaglione's criminal case).
- The court-released, purported Epstein note contains legible lines including “They investigated me — Found Nothing!!!,” “It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye,” and “NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!” (purported Epstein note).
- News outlets reported they had not independently verified the note’s authorship; attorney Bruce Barket told reporters he believes the note is genuine but did not formally authenticate it (Bruce Barket).
- On May 9, 2026, three independent forensic document examiners told the Associated Press that the newly unsealed jailhouse note and an earlier grievance note were almost certainly written by the same person (three independent forensic document examiners).
- The experts pointed to specific common authorship markers — identical spacing and letter shapes, use of capital letters, an underlined “NO FUN,” matching double exclamation-point endings with a bowed first exclamation mark, and similarly slanted lines — as evidence the two notes share an author (matching features).
- Examiner Grace Warmbier compared samples of Nicholas Tartaglione’s handwriting (including a 2019 note to the New York Daily News) and ruled him out as the author, while Thomas Vastrick said Tartaglione’s writing showed wide variation and could not yet be fully eliminated without further study (Nicholas Tartaglione).
- Because there are few, if any, definitively authenticated Epstein handwriting samples among the millions of pages released by the Justice Department, the experts said they could not conclusively attribute the notes directly to Epstein himself (definitively authenticated Epstein handwriting samples).
- The note’s existence — which was not mentioned in Bureau of Prisons records and appears to contradict the Justice Department’s previously released incident timeline — has prompted renewed scrutiny of the broader Epstein case, including his 2008 Florida plea deal and his July 2019 federal indictment (Justice Department's previously released incident timeline).
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"Steve Sailer's piece comments on the unsealing of a handwritten page tied to Epstein in the Tartaglione court file, arguing the document merit scrutiny but warning that provenance and forensic authentication — not media‑circulated excerpts or conspiratorial haste — should determine how much the note changes the story."
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On May 9, 2026, three independent forensic document examiners told the Associated Press that the newly unsealed jailhouse note and a previously known grievance note were almost certainly written by the same person.
- The experts cited common authorship markers including identical spacing, letter shapes, capital-letter use, underlined phrase 'NO FUN', matching double exclamation-point endings with a bowed first exclamation mark, and similarly slanted lines.
- Experts Thomas Vastrick, Bart Baggett, and Grace Warmbier each concluded the two notes share a common author, with Baggett and Warmbier stating flatly that the same person wrote both documents.
- Warmbier compared samples of cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione's handwriting, including a 2019 note to the New York Daily News, and ruled him out as the author due to significant dissimilarities.
- Vastrick said Tartaglione's writing showed wide variation and that he could not yet fully eliminate him as a possible writer, recommending further examination.
- The article notes that there are few, if any, definitively authenticated Epstein handwriting samples among the millions of pages recently released by the Justice Department, so none of the experts could conclusively attribute the notes to Epstein himself.
- The AP recounts that the first note, unsealed May 6, 2026, references investigators having 'found nothing!!!' and choosing the 'time to say goodbye,' while the earlier public note lists complaints about jail conditions such as showers, food, and 'Giant Bugs.'
- The story reiterates that Tartaglione says he found the first note hidden in a book in their cell after Epstein's July 23, 2019 suspected suicide attempt at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
- The NPR article reproduces key language from the purported Epstein note, including the lines "It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye" and "Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!! NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!"
- NPR explicitly states it has not independently verified the authenticity of the note, and attorney Bruce Barket says he believes the note is genuine but did not formally authenticate it.
- Barket explains the defense rationale for retaining and using the note: it was relevant mitigation evidence in Nicholas Tartaglione's capital case because prosecutors had initially sought the death penalty and his in-custody conduct mattered for the jury.
- The article notes that the note had been kept in Tartaglione's files for nearly seven years before being unsealed, and that its existence appears to contradict the Justice Department's previously released official incident timeline.
- The piece reiterates that Tartaglione publicly claimed in a July 2025 podcast that he found the note hidden in one of Epstein's books after the July 2019 suspected suicide attempt and that he says he performed CPR on Epstein during that incident.
- The Wall Street Journal confirms the handwritten document is unsigned and was unsealed by a U.S. District Court on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
- The article specifies that the note was filed under seal in a case involving one of Jeffrey Epstein's former cellmates, who says he found the document in July 2019.
- The Wall Street Journal reiterates that Epstein died in jail the following month, in August 2019, and publishes the court-released image of the purported note.
- MS Now reports on May 6, 2026, that the handwritten document has been made public for the first time after being unsealed by Judge Kenneth Karas in the Nicholas Tartaglione criminal case.
- The article quotes specific language from the purported Epstein note beyond earlier partial descriptions, including: "They investigated me — Found Nothing!!!," "It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye," and "Watcha want me to do — Burst out crying!! No FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!"
- MS Now explicitly states it has not authenticated whether the letter was written by Epstein.
- The story cites Tartaglione telling The New York Times he found the note inside a graphic novel after Epstein was found hanging from a bunk bed following an unsuccessful suicide attempt in July 2019.
- The piece notes that Judge Kenneth Karas released the note after The New York Times petitioned the court to unseal the document as part of its Epstein reporting.
- The article reiterates the Justice Department report’s account that Epstein initially suggested his cellmate tried to kill him after the July 2019 incident, then later said he did not know what happened and refused to discuss his injuries.
- MS Now reports that Tartaglione says he gave the purported suicide note to his lawyers in case Epstein accused him of trying to injure him, and that Tartaglione’s attorney John Wieder submitted the note at Judge Karas’s direction.
- The article confirms Tartaglione is a former police officer sentenced in 2024 to four consecutive life sentences for homicide, and that DOJ did not immediately respond to MS Now’s request for comment on the note.
- On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, ordered the public release of the handwritten note that Jeffrey Epstein's former cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione says he found after Epstein's July 23, 2019 suspected suicide attempt.
- The article reproduces legible portions of the short note, including phrases such as "They investigated me for month -- found nothing!!!," "It is a treat to be able to choose the time to say goodbye," and the underlined conclusion "NO FUN" and "NOT WORTH IT!!"
- The note had been sealed and kept in a courthouse vault for nearly five years as part of Tartaglione's criminal case and was not mentioned in official government reports examining Epstein's August 10, 2019 death.
- The article underscores that it remains unclear who actually wrote the note and that few people were aware of its existence until Tartaglione discussed it on a podcast in 2025.
- On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, CBS News reported details of the handwritten note attributed to Jeffrey Epstein that was ordered released by a U.S. district judge at The New York Times' request.
- The article states the note was submitted to the court in May 2021 as part of the criminal murder case against former Epstein cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione and that it was not mentioned in Bureau of Prisons records.
- CBS quotes specific legible phrases from the note, including "They investigated me for month — found nothing!!! So 15 year old charges resulted," "time to say goodbye," and "No fun — not worth it!!", while emphasizing that CBS has not independently verified the note.
- The piece recounts that on July 23, 2019, 18 days before his death, Epstein claimed Tartaglione attacked him, but former Attorney General Bill Barr later testified the incident was viewed as an attempted suicide.
- CBS adds broader case context, noting Epstein's 2008 Florida plea deal, his July 2019 New York federal indictment on child sex trafficking charges, and that his August 10, 2019 death at MCC New York was ruled a suicide, with his connections to prominent figures again under scrutiny after a recent DOJ document release.