New revelations from recently released Epstein files include an email sent from an encrypted account alleging serious crimes committed at the infamous Zorro Ranch, a huge, secluded New Mexico estate once owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, New Mexico political leaders, including New Mexico House Democrat Melanie Stansbury, have called for a formal investigation into the late financier’s activities in the state, and why potential crimes linked to the sprawling Santa Fe County property were never fully investigated by law enforcement.
One email, disturbing claims
Among millions of pages of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice under a new congressional law is an email first sent in November 2019 to local radio host and former Albuquerque mayoral candidate Eddy Aragon, according to New Mexico news outlet Source New Mexico. The anonymous message, which originated from an encrypted account and is now public, contained allegations that two “foreign girls” were strangled during “rough, fetish sex” and later buried on orders of “Jeffrey and Madam G” — a likely reference to Epstein and his close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The sender also claimed to possess seven videos from the ranch, including footage allegedly depicting sex with minors, offering to provide the content in exchange for bitcoin. Aragon immediately forwarded the email to the FBI, but says he never received a substantive response about whether it was investigated.
State leaders renew scrutiny of Zorro Ranch’s past
After the email was revealed, New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard, on Feb. 10, 2026, penned a letter to Attorney General Raúl Torrez and the U.S. Attorney’s Office urging a comprehensive probe into the troubling allegations tied to the property. Garcia Richard noted the proximity of state trust land adjacent to Zorro Ranch — a 7,500‑plus‑acre estate Epstein purchased in 1993 — and said the claims warranted further examination by authorities.
In her letter, she described the anonymous tips as “disturbing” and made clear that the State Land Office, which manages public trust land near the ranch, terminated Epstein’s state leases in 2019 and provided related documentation to state prosecutors at that time.
New Mexico House lawmakers push for a truth commission
The revelations have also galvanized state legislators to pursue additional oversight. New Mexico House Representatives Mariana Anaya and Andrea Romero are leading efforts to establish a bipartisan “truth commission” within the legislature. The panel would be tasked with examining the unredacted Epstein files and investigating unanswered questions about what occurred at Zorro Ranch, how prior law enforcement responded, and why no comprehensive federal forensic investigation occurred after Epstein’s arrest and death.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, one of the few lawmakers to view unredacted documents, said she spent a significant part of her morning poring over the files and was struck by what she saw. “There’s some dark, dark stuff there,” she said in a video she shared on social media, stressing evidence that crimes were committed on the property, and that potential victims who reported incidents to law enforcement were never followed up on.
Stansbury added that because the FBI never conducted a full forensic investigation of the ranch and the property was sold before deeper inquiries could be undertaken, “there’s a lot of unanswered questions about Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, what went down there, why it was not fully investigated, why people were not held accountable.”
She also expressed empathy for alleged victims: “You know, to anyone who was hurt there, I just, my heart goes out to you. And the miscarriage of justice in this case is just… stunning, appalling, disgusting…”
What happened at Zorro Ranch?
Zorro Ranch — once a sprawling compound with a mansion, private airstrip, multiple guest houses, and remote terrain — became a focus in Epstein litigation after women testified they were abused there as teenagers. Despite these allegations, federal authorities did not search the site after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, and subsequent inquiries by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and state police turned up no active investigations into sex crimes at the property. The property was sold in 2023, complicating the inquiry.
Now, with the email squarely in the public files and new pressure from state leaders, demands for a fresh and thorough investigation into the hidden history of Epstein’s New Mexico estate are mounting.
Published: Feb 12, 2026 10:12 am