A former correction officer at the New York correctional facility where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 testified before the House Oversight Committee last month that she was not the orange shape seen moving up the stairs of Epstein’s tier the night he died, furthering the mystery of what happened that night.
According to a transcript released Thursday, House Oversight Committee members questioned Tova Noel on May 18 about surveillance footage showing an unidentified orange-colored figure moving up a staircase at approximately 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019, the night before Epstein was discovered dead in his cell in the Special Housing Unit of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. His death was ruled a suicide.
In her testimony, Noel steadfastly denied being the individual in the footage, and maintained that she was not present at that moment. She offered no explanation for what the shape could be.
“To be very honest, I don’t know what it is, who it is, because I never went back to the tier, and I was never carrying anything orange at all, and I never issued anything orange to anyone in the SHU — not just only Epstein, just anyone,” Noel said.
CBS News had previously been the first to report the presence of the shape, as well as the FBI and the Justice Department Inspector General’s failure to question her about it. The Inspector General’s report had noted that it was likely her, but provided no evidence. An FBI log of the surveillance video had noted that it was possibly an inmate. The presence of an inmate outside of a cell at that time would have been highly unusual.
This was also the last time someone was seen approaching Epstein’s cell tier the night of his death.
Because of a hard drive failure, a majority of the cameras were streaming but not recording that night, and the only available view of the Special Housing Unit, and specifically of the L tier where he was held, was from a camera on the other side of the common area that showed a partial view of the stairs leading to his tier, according to a 2023 report from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General.
Noel acknowledged that she failed to properly conduct required inmate rounds and counts on the night before Jeffrey Epstein’s death, but denied any involvement in his death.
Noel, an Antigua-born immigrant and former National Guard member who served in Kuwait during Operation Enduring Freedom, testified that she had recently returned to work after a workplace injury and was working mandatory overtime during her first overnight shift in the Special Housing Unit.
Noel said she did not know who Epstein was when he was moved into the SHU, and was unaware of several special conditions associated with his confinement, including that he required a cellmate.
She also said she had not seen a posted notice requiring mandatory 30-minute rounds on Epstein. This notice had been printed on orange paper and attached to the computer monitor at her desk. She testified that she learned about Epstein’s prior alleged suicide attempt from his cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione the day after the incident occurred and had never seen a note reportedly connected to that incident.
This was in reference to the purported suicide note obtained by The New York Times last month. Tartaglione had been Epstein’s roommate when the alleged attempt occurred and has made claims to have saved his life that night.
Noel was asked about the 12 cash deposits beginning in April 2018 that had been previously identified by investigators. She said the money came from her personal savings and had no connection to Epstein or anyone associated with him. She repeatedly denied receiving money from Epstein or any affiliated individuals, but refused to disclose the source of the funds.
“Like, I deposited my money into my bank account,” she said. “And that’s from my personal savings plan. And no one has ever approached me about money or given me money in reference to Mr. Epstein at all, ever.”
Noel testified that she first spoke with Epstein on Aug. 9, 2019, and that she and a fellow correction officer delivered his dinner that evening, but she did not enter his cell. She stated that, despite failing to complete required rounds, she believed Epstein’s death would have occurred even if the checks had been properly conducted.
She also denied intentionally searching for information about Epstein on a prison computer, explaining that she clicked on a news article link that appeared on a homepage. Regarding the discovery of Epstein, Noel testified that she never entered the cell, did not see the body initially, and only observed Epstein’s feet while another correction officer, Michael Thomas, performed CPR. She said she first saw the body when it was removed on a stretcher.
She recalled inmates chanting, “Y’all in so much trouble,” after Epstein was found, and said she waited for others to respond.
When asked about an email released in Justice Department records alleging that she and Thomas were paid $6,500 to neglect their duties so that a man named Michael Rose could enter Epstein’s cell and kill him, Noel denied any knowledge of Rose and rejected the allegations. Throughout her testimony, she maintained that while procedural failures occurred, she had no role in any conspiracy related to Epstein’s death. There have been numerous conspiracy theories that Epstein was killed because of his connection to wealthy and powerful people.
In a statement, Noel’s attorney told CBS News Thursday that Noel “voluntarily appeared for an interview by the House Oversight Committee because she wanted to assist in providing clarity to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, ensure that the Oversight Committee has all the facts known to her — not based on speculation or conspiracy theories — about the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Epstein, and bring closure to her involvement in this tragic situation.”
CBS News has reached out to the FBI and the Justice Department Inspector General for comment, but has not received a response.