Ex-Guard Denies Being Mystery Figure Near Epstein Cell In 2019
Former Metropolitan Correctional Center correction officer Tova Noel said she was not the orange-colored shape seen on distant video near Jeffrey Epstein's cell, according to a transcript released Thursday, June 4, 2026.[1]
Noel, who testified before the House Oversight Committee on May 18, admitted she failed to conduct required inmate rounds and counts but denied any role in Epstein's death.[1] She told lawmakers she had no financial connection to Epstein or his associates.[1]
On the night of August 9, 2019, a hard-drive failure left most MCC cameras not recording, leaving only a distant partial view of the stairs to Epstein's tier.[1] That limited footage shows an orange-colored figure ascending the stairs at about 10:39 p.m. on the tier toward Epstein's cell.[1] An inspector general report had concluded the figure was likely Noel, while an FBI log noted it could have been an inmate, but neither agency had directly questioned her.[1]
With the transcript now public, Noel's denial seeks to answer a lingering mystery, but it does not definitively resolve what happened the night Epstein died.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On May 18, 2026, former correction officer Tova Noel testified to the House Oversight Committee about events the night of Jeffrey Epstein's death; the transcript was released June 4, 2026.
- Noel denied being the orange-colored shape seen on surveillance video ascending the stairs toward Epstein's cell tier at approximately 10:39 p.m. on August 9, 2019.
- Noel admitted she failed to conduct required inmate rounds and counts but denied any role in Epstein's death and said she had no financial connection to Epstein or his associates.
- Because of a hard drive failure, most Metropolitan Correctional Center cameras were not recording that night, leaving only a distant partial view of the stairs to Epstein's tier.
- An inspector general report had assumed the figure was likely Noel, while an FBI log described it as possibly an inmate, but neither agency had directly questioned her about it.
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