Yesterday, two federal guards who were tasked that night with watching Mr. Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center became the first people to face charges stemming from a criminal investigation into his death.

[Guards accused of napping and online shopping the night Epstein died.]

With those charges, an official account of what possibly happened inside the jail began to emerge.

The details

The guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas , were charged with failing to check on Mr. Epstein every half-hour, as they were supposed to, and then lying about it on documents, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday.

Instead of checking on detainees from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., the indictment said, the two jail employees “sat at their desk, browsed the internet and moved around the common area.” Ms. Noel, 31, shopped online for furniture, and Mr. Thomas, 41, browsed motorcycle sales and caught up on sports news, according to the indictment. At points, investigators concluded, the guards appeared to be asleep.