Epstein's Cellmate Didn't Write the Note, His Lawyer Insists

The suicide note allegedly left by Jeffrey Epstein in his jail cell keeps getting messier, and now his former cellmate’s lawyer is drawing a hard line in the sand. Nicholas Tartaglione, a former cop serving a life sentence for four murders, has been caught in the crossfire of wild speculation—with social media sleuths, TV personalities, and critics questioning whether he forged the note that surfaced after Epstein’s 2019 death. On May 7, 2026, Tartaglione’s attorney Bruce Barket told TMZ there’s no wiggle room here: his client“didn’t forge”the note and“there’s no debate”over it.

But here’s where the story gets thorny. Despite Barket’s firm denial, doubt is everywhere. Reddit users have compared the handwriting in the suicide note to confirmed examples of Epstein’s writing and spotted inconsistencies. Attorney Anne P. Mitchell pointed out on X that a 2019 letter Epstein allegedly wrote to fellow pedophile Larry Nassar turned out to be fake—which raises the obvious question: could this suicide note be fraudulent too? On Wednesday, Fox News Correspondent Kevin Corke reported on Laura Ingraham’s show that an Epstein family member doesn’t believe the note came from Epstein himself.

Then there’s the matter of official verification. The Department of Justice has not confirmed the note’s authenticity. That’s a pretty big deal when you’re trying to convince people a document is genuine.

According to Tartaglione’s own account to The New York Times, he discovered the note inside a graphic novel after what he described as Epstein’s first suicide attempt. He claims he handed it over to his lawyers thinking it might help his case—a strange move if you’re trying to stay clear of suspicion. Epstein had initially accused Tartaglione of assaulting him, though he later recanted that claim. Tartaglione has consistently denied the allegation.

What we know for certain: Epstein died on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. What we don’t know—and what keeps fueling speculation—is whether that handwritten note in a jail cell actually came from him. Without DOJ confirmation or independent handwriting analysis in the public domain, the mystery lingers, and so does the skepticism.