Former Epstein prison guard says her life was upended by conspiracy theories, threats

A former corrections officer who was working the night Jeffrey Epstein was found dead told the House Oversight Committee that her life has been derailed by threats and conspiracy theories suggesting she had a role in facilitating or covering up Epstein's death, according to a transcript of the interview released this week.

Tova Noel -- who was initially charged with falsifying records during her shift that night -- denied having any role in Epstein's death and blamed some of the problems that came to light after the suicide on the "dysfunctional culture" at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center.

"My responsibility to conduct counts and rounds was improperly executed because of severe understaffing, a lack of adequate training, inadequate communication between management and frontline correctional officers, and other systemic failures," Noel said in her testimony, describing her actions as the "MCC Way."

Noel and another prison guard were accused in November 2019 of falsifying records to make it seem as if they completed their rounds that night, while they spent most of their shifts at their desks browsing the internet. Prosecutors said that because of their alleged conduct, no one checked on the inmates in MCC's Special Housing Unit for eight hours, until when they found Epstein unresponsive in his cell.

Both Noel -- who served in the National Guard including during Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait -- and the other guard ending up reaching deals with prosecutors and their cases were dropped in December 2021.

In her opening statement to lawmakers, she acknowledged that she submitted documentation to make it seem as if rounds and counts were done; but she said it was done at the beginning of the shift and said the falsification of the records was not in any way related to Epstein's death and was not an attempt to cover up.

Noel told lawmakers thought the case being dropped would be the end of her association with Epstein.

"I thought that I would be able to privately rebuild my life and career. Instead, I have consistently been the subject of threats to my life, conspiracy theories, and outrageous rumors, impacting my mental and physical health," Noel said, according to the transcript. "I have received threats from strangers. I have witnessed strangers pontificate about whether I'm a murderer or that I'll end up dead. I am consistently harassed at my residence, place of employment, in emails, and on the phone. Every few weeks, there's a new article based on a new theory with little to no factual basis."

Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial on August 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York Medical Examiner's Office, and the Justice Department concurred with that finding. 

A 2023 DOJ inspector general report detailed multiple failures while Epstein was in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons but concluded he died by suicide and that foul play was not possible. 

The conspiracy theories flared up earlier this year when documents released by the Department of Justice included materials from Noel's criminal case, including the internet searches she made that night and a series of financial transactions flagged by her bank as suspicious.

Asked about both those materials, Noel pushed back on any allegations she was involved in Epstein's death and sought to explain them as coincidences.

Asked about a browsing history showing that she searched "latest on Epstein in jail" less than an hour before he was found dead, Noel said she was shopping for furniture online and was curious about one of the inmates under her supervision.

"Like, if I see it on the homepage, I click on it and read it. But as far as performing a physical search, I don't recall doing that," she said, according to the transcript.

Most of the deposits to her bank account predated Epstein's arrest. One came 10 days before his death.

Asked about those transactions, Noel said she deposited the money herself.

"The source of the money that, as I mentioned earlier, has nothing do with Epstein, anyone related to Epstein, involved with Epstein. No one has ever approached, offered, asked. Anything that's concerning my money has nothing to go with Epstein at all. It's solely me and my personal savings," she said.

Noel also denied knowing anything about an unexplained brief flash of orange seen on the surveillance camera near Epstein's cell the night before he was found dead.

The nature of the orange flash remains a mystery to this day, and Noel said the timing of the orange flash does not align with when she did her count that night.

"To be very honest, I don't know what it is, who it is. Because I never went back to the tier, and I was never carrying anything orange at all, and I never issued anything orange to anyone in the SHU -- not just only Epstein, just anyone," she said, according to the transcript.

Noel told lawmakers that MCC suffered multiple "systemic failures" -- including chronic understaffing and inadequate training -- and that she was never properly trained to work in the unit where Epstein was located.

Acknowledging the mistakes she made that night when Epstein died, Noel implored lawmakers that she would like to move on and no longer be associated with the disgraced sex offender.

"I would like to ask the world to allow me to heal and move on with my life. I'm not a criminal. I didn't conspire to cause Mr. Epstein's death. It is my desire to be left alone after all of today's interview," Noel said.