The Epstein saga takes another twist as it’s revealed a guard Googled him twice shortly before his death

Tova Noel, a Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) prison guard when Jeffrey Epstein was housed at the facility, Googled the convicted sex offender twice shortly before Epstein was found dead in his cell, according to Department of Justice documents related to the case.

According to the New York Post, which broke the news, Noel Googled, “Latest on Epstein in jail” at 5:42 a.m. and then again at around 5:52 a.m., records show. Epstein was found dead from hanging in his cell from what officials later ruled was a suicide at 6:30 a.m. that same day.

When the FBI asked Noel, who also reportedly shopped online while on duty that morning, about those searches, she said, ” I don’t recall looking him up,” and questioned whether the FBI files were accurate.

“Miss Noel killed Jeffrey”

Noel’s name appears again in the Epstein files in an overheard conversation. According to the Miami Herald, an MCC inmate told the FBI he overheard a conversation about covering up Epstein’s death the morning he died. At around 6:30 a.m., the inmate recalled hearing, “Breathe! Breathe!” “Dudes, you killed that dude,” and, “If he is dead, we’re going to cover it up, and he’s going to have an alibi — my officers.” The inmate also said that after Epstein was officially declared dead, other inmates said, “Miss Noel killed Jeffrey.” Noel has not been charged with any crime.

Meanwhile, records also show several bank transactions in Noel’s account in the months before Epstein died, including after an earlier incident that officials called a suicide attempt on July 23, 2019, about a month before Epstein was found dead in his cell. Epstein told officials at that time his inmate tried to kill after an extortion attempt.

Epstein’s cellmate at the time, Nicholas Tartaglione, denied these claims, and the investigators ultimately found Epstein’s claims of an “extortion attempt” by Tartaglione to be uncorroborated.

Tova Noel and the Epstein case

Noel had previously been at the center of scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death while he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. She and fellow MCC guard Michael Thomas were responsible for monitoring Epstein the night he died, but were later accused by federal prosecutors of failing to conduct required inmate checks and falsifying records to indicate they had completed them.

Prosecutors said the guards instead spent large portions of their shift browsing the internet and shopping online. In 2020, Noel and Thomas were charged with conspiracy and records falsification related to their conduct that night, though they were not accused of directly harming Epstein. The charges were later resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement that required community service and cooperation with investigators.

The official account of Epstein’s death, first announced in August 2019, is that he died by suicide while being held at the MCC. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice reviewed the circumstances, and the city’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, ruled the death a suicide by hanging.

The death triggered multiple investigations and widespread public skepticism, fueled by malfunctioning security cameras and procedural lapses at the jail, though authorities have repeatedly said they found no evidence of foul play