A newly released congressional transcript is reigniting debate over one of the most controversial deaths in recent memory. Former correctional officer Tova Noel has disputed claims that she was the unidentified figure captured on surveillance footage near Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell shortly before his death in 2019.
The testimony, obtained from a House Oversight Committee interview and released this week, centers on an orange-colored figure seen walking up a staircase leading to Epstein’s housing unit on the night before he was found dead. While Epstein’s death was officially ruled a suicide, it continues to fuel public speculation.
Former correctional officer Tova Noel gave testimony regarding the orange figure seen near Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell
According to the transcript, Noel was questioned about footage recorded on August 9, 2019, at the New York City prison where Epstein was being held while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The video reportedly shows an unidentified orange figure moving toward Epstein’s tier at approximately 10:39 p.m. That sighting has drawn attention because it was reportedly the last known movement toward the area before Epstein was discovered dead the following morning.
Noel firmly denied being the person in the footage. “To be very honest, I don’t know what it is, who it is,” she testified, adding that she was not carrying anything orange and had not issued orange items to inmates in the Special Housing Unit.
The mystery surrounding the figure has persisted for years. According to CBS News, an Inspector General review suggested the individual may have been Noel, though the report reportedly did not include evidence supporting that conclusion. Other federal investigators reportedly floated the possibility that the figure was another inmate, though that scenario was considered unusual given the circumstances.
During her testimony, Noel acknowledged that she failed to complete required inmate counts and security rounds that night. However, she maintained that performing those checks would not necessarily have changed the outcome.
The hearing also revisited long-standing concerns about technical failures inside the facility. Previous Justice Department reports indicated that many cameras in the Special Housing Unit were streaming but not recording due to a hard drive malfunction. Those gaps in surveillance have helped keep speculation alive despite the official ruling that Epstein died by suicide.
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