House Oversight Transcript Details Epstein Guard's Account Of Night Of His Jail Death
On Thursday, June 4, 2026, the House Oversight Committee released a transcript of its interview with former Metropolitan Correctional Center guard Tova Noel, who said she believes she was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive.[1]
Noel told lawmakers the Metropolitan Correctional Center was "dysfunctional" and that training at the jail suggested written Bureau of Prisons policies could be applied differently at MCC.[1] She said she was on duty from 4 p.m. Central on August 9, 2019, until 8 a.m. Central on August 10, 2019, when Epstein was found unresponsive.[1] She admitted failing to perform required inmate checks and submitting inaccurate documentation.[1] Noel told the committee those inaccurate log entries were filled out at the start of each shift and were not made to cover up her or a colleague's conduct.[1] She said her "inadequate job performance" stemmed from inexperience, inadequate training and being overworked by chronic understaffing.[1]
Noel said she earned her full base salary in roughly six months because of mandatory overtime and described her only connection to Epstein's death as "happening to be mandated for overtime when he died." MS NOW She denied falling asleep during her shift and acknowledged using the unit computer to look at furniture online.[1] She said she does not recall a specific Google search for "latest on Epstein in jail" that FBI records show was made less than an hour before Epstein was found dead.[1]
Noel told lawmakers her life since August 2019 has "changed drastically," citing unredacted personal information in Department of Justice documents, threats to her life, widespread conspiracy theories and resulting health impacts.[1] She has also testified she was not the "orange shape" seen outside Epstein's cell in other testimony.[2]
Show source details & analysis (2 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- The House Oversight Committee publicly released on Thursday, June 4, 2026, the full transcript of last month’s interview with former MCC guard Tova Noel, and Noel says she believes she was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive.
- Noel told lawmakers the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) was 'dysfunctional' and that her training suggested written Federal Bureau of Prisons policies and protocols could be applied differently at that facility.
- Noel said she was on duty from 4 p.m. Central on August 9, 2019, until 8 a.m. Central on August 10, 2019, when Epstein was found unresponsive, and admitted failing to perform required checks and submitting inaccurate documentation.
- She told the committee that those inaccurate log entries were filled out at the start of each shift, were not made to cover up her or a colleague’s conduct, and that her 'inadequate job performance' stemmed from inexperience, inadequate training and being overworked due to chronic understaffing (inaccurate documentation).
- Noel said she earned her full base salary in roughly six months because of mandatory overtime and described her only connection to Epstein’s death as 'happening to be mandated for overtime when he died.'
- She denied falling asleep during her shift, acknowledged using the unit computer to look at furniture online, and said she does not recall performing a specific Google search for 'latest on Epstein in jail' that FBI records show was made less than an hour before Epstein was found dead.
- Noel told the committee her life since August 2019 has 'changed drastically,' citing unredacted personal information in DOJ documents, threats to her life, widespread conspiracy theories labeling her a murderer, and resulting mental and physical health impacts.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- The House Oversight Committee publicly released on Thursday, June 4, 2026, the full transcript of last month’s interview with former MCC guard Tova Noel, who says she believes she was the last person to see Jeffrey Epstein alive.
- Noel told lawmakers MCC was 'dysfunctional' and that she was trained in a way that suggested written Federal Bureau of Prisons policies and protocols could be applied differently at that facility.
- She said she was on duty from 4 p.m. on August 9, 2019, until 8 a.m. on August 10, 2019, when Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell, and admitted she failed to perform required inmate checks and submitted inaccurate documentation.
- Noel testified that her inaccurate log entries were filled out at the start of each shift, were not made to cover up her conduct or her colleague’s, and that her 'inadequate job performance' stemmed from inexperience, inadequate training and being overworked due to chronic understaffing.
- She said she earned her full base salary in roughly six months because of mandatory overtime, and described the only connection she has to Epstein’s death as 'happening to be mandated for overtime when he died.'
- Noel denied falling asleep during her shift, acknowledged using the unit computer to look at furniture online, and said she does not recall performing a specific Google search for 'latest on Epstein in jail' that FBI records show was made less than an hour before Epstein was found dead.
- She told the committee that her life since August 2019 has 'changed drastically,' citing unredacted personal information in DOJ documents, threats to her life, widespread conspiracy theories labeling her a murderer, and resulting mental and physical health impacts.