On Aug. 10, news broke that multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein had commited suicide. He had been convicted as a sex offender and sex trafficker, and was in federal custody at the time of his death. 

Prior to his arrest, Epstein had a massive, complicated system to bring underaged girls to his private island, Little St. James of the U.S. Virgin Islands, among other locations. Also dragged into the spotlight because of former associations with Epstein — with some salacious accusations — were Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and the British royal family. 

Because of Epstein’s infamy, many people were skeptical of his suicide. Despite being placed on suicide watch after a first attempt at self-harm, Epstein was taken off the watch about two weeks before his death for seemingly no reason.

The most common conspiracy theory is that Epstein was murdered by powerful people who he could have potentially incriminated if he had gone to trial. Because he was in federal custody, he could have had the chance to give up the names of famous men who had participated in his illegal and immoral activities. 

Fringe conspiracy theorists even point the finger at  Clinton and Trump. At this point, no evidence credibly links either politician to Epstein’s illegal activities.

An autopsy performed following Epstein’s death, showed that the hyoid bone in Epstein’s neck was broken, which only happens in a miniscule fraction of suicides but is much more frequent in strangulations. 

Even off suicide watch, Epstein should have been guarded constantly, but the two guards assigned to watch him were sleeping and failed to check on him for over three hours. They then proceeded to falsify papers covering up their mistake. However, for some, this mistake seems too unprofessional and convenient to be realistic.

No matter the actual circumstances surrounding the death, it is undeniable that Epstein is dead, and his victims’ chance at justice has gone to the grave with him. No doubt the conspiracies surrounding Epstein’s death will continue and perhaps even grow more elaborate — evidence that the internet spreads conspiracies faster and more fully than any medium in human history.