Former correction officer Tova Noel testified before the House Oversight Committee that she was not the orange-colored shape seen moving near the stairs to Jeffrey Epstein’s cell tier around 10:39 p.m. on August 9, 2019, the night before Epstein was found dead at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Noel said she never returned to the tier at that time, was not carrying anything orange, and did not issue anything orange to anyone in the Special Housing Unit. That denial matters because the Justice Department Inspector General had suggested the shape was likely Noel, while an FBI video log had reportedly described it as possibly an inmate — something that would have been highly unusual at that hour. The footage remains especially important because, due to a hard-drive failure, most cameras in the unit were not recording that night, leaving only a partial camera view of the stairs leading to Epstein’s tier.
Noel acknowledged that she and fellow officer Michael Thomas failed to conduct required inmate rounds and counts, but she denied having anything to do with Epstein’s death or any conspiracy surrounding it. She said she did not know who Epstein was when he arrived in the SHU, was unaware of certain special conditions tied to his confinement, and had not seen the posted notice requiring 30-minute rounds. She also rejected questions about cash deposits, saying the money came from personal savings and had no connection to Epstein, and denied an allegation from released Justice Department records claiming she and Thomas were paid to neglect their duties so someone could enter Epstein’s cell and kill him. Her testimony leaves the “orange shape” unresolved and adds another unanswered question to a night already defined by failed checks, broken cameras, missing clarity, and official explanations that continue to leave major gaps.
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source:
Correction officer testifies she was not the orange shape seen near Jeffrey Epstein's cell the night he died - CBS News
