A former Metropolitan Correctional Center guard who was on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died testified in a closed-door session before the House Oversight Committee.
Tova Noel appeared for a transcribed interview on Monday. She was one of the last people to see the financier alive before he was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
Guard Monitored Epstein That Night
Noel and fellow officer Michael Thomas were assigned to the unit where Epstein was held. Both were later charged with falsifying inmate check records but reached agreements with federal prosecutors. The charges were dropped in 2021, and both were fired from the Bureau of Prisons.
Noel told investigators she last saw Epstein alive late on the evening of August 9. She reported no unusual sounds from his cell during her shift. She was present when officers discovered his body the following morning, around 6:30 a.m.
During the closed session, committee members asked Noel about prison security procedures, her activities during the shift, online searches she reportedly made about Epstein shortly before the body was found, and unexplained cash deposits into her bank account in the months before the death.
Reports have mentioned roughly $12,000 in deposits. No official findings have connected those deposits to Epstein’s case.
A transcript of her testimony is expected to be released in the coming days.
Congress Reviews Federal Prison Failures
The testimony takes place as lawmakers examine how the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons handled Epstein while he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges. President Trump’s administration has supported greater release of records related to the case.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has pushed for more details on operations at the Manhattan jail. A 2023 Justice Department inspector general report found multiple failures on the night Epstein died, including staffing shortages, falsified logs, and malfunctioning cameras that did not record key areas.
Epstein had been removed from suicide watch weeks earlier despite a previous incident. He was alone in his cell when he died.
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The committee has heard from other witnesses, including former prison officials and Epstein’s associates, as part of its ongoing review.
Why This Matters
Epstein’s death in federal custody stopped his criminal trial and prevented full public disclosure of evidence about his alleged sex trafficking network. Many questions remain about how a high-profile detainee could die under these conditions.
The congressional review under the current administration aims to establish exactly what happened inside the jail and whether federal agencies followed required procedures. Noel’s account, as one of the last people to see Epstein alive, adds important information to that record.
