This archive report was first published on 11 August 2019.
On August 10, 2019, US financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, sparking a formal investigation into how he was able to kill himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Epstein, 66, had pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and conspiracy charges just a month prior and was being held without bail.
His death came a day after hundreds of pages of court documents were released, revealing new allegations against him and some of his high-profile associates.
According to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, it was "way too convenient" that Epstein could no longer incriminate others, and he called for an investigation into the financier's activities.
"What a lot of us want to know is, what did he know?" Mr de Blasio said. "How many other millionaires and billionaires were part of the illegal activities that he was engaged in?"
Conspiracy theories have emerged following Epstein's death, and the FBI has opened a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
