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Vanity Fair editor found severed cat head and bullet during Jeffrey Epstein investigation, documentary claims

‘Filthy Rich’ is now streaming on Netflix

Clémence Michallon
New York City
Thursday 28 May 2020 16:20 BST
Trailer for Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich

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Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter found a severed cat head and a bullet on his property while a reporter investigated Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new documentary.

Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich was released by Netflix on Wednesday. The four-part documentary features the testimonies of multiple survivors who say they were abused by the disgraced financier.

Its first episode focuses in part on an investigation conducted in 2011 by journalist Vicky Ward for Vanity Fair.

According to Ward, Epstein became threatening when he found out Ward was working on a piece about him, telling her that if he didn’t “like” it, “it’s going to be bad for you and your family”.

Ward, who was then pregnant with twins, says in the documentary that Epstein threatened to “have a witch doctor place a curse on [her] unborn children”.

The journalist goes on to recall a phone call from Carter, in which she says he shared additional concerning news.

“He was pretty spooked because he’d found a severed cat head in his garden,” Ward says.

“He also found a bullet on his doorstep.”

Ward goes on to state that part of her story with testimony from two women who shared allegations against Epstein were ultimately taken out, which she attributed to an editorial decision on the magazine’s part.

Carter disputed Ward’s recollection in a statement provided to the documentary and said that parts of Ward’s reporting “did not meet our legal threshold” at the time.

Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter on 28 February 2019 in New York City.
Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter on 28 February 2019 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Filthy Rich is out on Netflix now.

You can read more about the documentary’s revelations here.

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