Jeffrey Epstein: ‘Shrieking and yelling heard from cell’ on day of alleged sex trafficker’s death

Claim comes after prison blasted for ‘serious irregularities’

Shrieking and yelling were heard coming from Jeffrey Epstein‘s cell on the morning of his death, it has been reported.

People nearby heard a commotion characterised as shouting, shrieking and yelling in a report by CBS News.

The broadcaster cited unnamed sources, who added that guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre (MCC) in New York had tried to revive the alleged sex trafficker.

“Breathe, Epstein, breathe,” they were reported as having said during the effort.

It came as pressure mounted on prison authorities in the wake of Epstein’s apparent suicide on Saturday.

Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House judiciary committee, sent a scathing letter to the acting director of federal prisons, complaining that the “competency and rigour of our criminal justice system has been marred”.

Along with other politicians he demanded answers from Hugh Hurwitz on the prison’s suicide-prevention policies, information on the guards on duty and whether video cameras were in use.

On Monday, Donald Trump‘s attorney general said he was angry and appalled to have learned of Epstein’s death and blasted the MCC for “serious irregularities”.

William Barr added that the investigation into Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking activities would continue and that “any co-conspirators should not rest easy”.

MCC has also been criticised for low staffing levels and failing to make regular checks on Epstein, according to an official who was not authorised to speak on the matter.

Mr Barr has asked the Justice Department’s internal watchdog to investigate Epstein’s death.

The former financier was already a registered sex offender, having pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex.

Additional reporting by agencies