FBI investigating after Jeffrey Epstein dies by suicide in Manhattan prison cell

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Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and wealthy financier, died by suicide in his New York City jail cell Saturday.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says Epstein was found unresponsive around 6:30 a.m. He was taken from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan and pronounced dead at an area hospital.

The FBI is investigating the incident.

Last month, Epstein was placed on suicide watch after he was found in his jail cell with marks on his neck that appeared to be self-inflicted.

Epstein was being held without bail awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking. Epstein had pleaded not guilty.

He was accused of having paid girls as young as 14 to have sex with him at his Upper East Side home and his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, from 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors say he used employees and associates to lure the girls to his residences, and then paid some of his victims to recruit other girls for him to abuse.

The charges by New York federal prosecutors came more than a decade after Epstein faced similar accusations in Florida. In 2007, he signed a plea deal with prosecutors in Miami that allowed him to avoid federal charges and instead plead guilty to lesser state prostitution charges. U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned last month after coming under fire for overseeing that deal when he was U.S. attorney in Miami.

"I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody," U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. "Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death."

Court records released Friday show that when confronted with allegations that he orchestrated a sex trafficking ring that delivered girls to him and his high-profile acquaintances, Epstein repeatedly refused to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself.

Epstein's responses emerged in a partial transcript of a September 2016 deposition stemming from a defamation lawsuit, nearly three years before his most recent arrest.

The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.