Historian Says FBI Correspondence Suggests Jeffrey Epstein Was Murdered — Alleges Plot Against Prince Andrew

Historian: FBI correspondence indicates Epstein may have been killed, sources allege

British historian Andrew Lownie told The Daily Beast Podcast that he has seen what he described as "internal FBI correspondence" indicating Jeffrey Epstein was murdered by another inmate — a claim that contradicts the Department of Justice's 2023 finding that Epstein died by suicide. Lownie said a former FBI agent provided the documents and that the correspondence treated the claim of homicide "as fact." He also said he was given the name of the alleged killer but has withheld it publicly for "liability considerations" while he continues his research.

Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges when he was found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019. The circumstances of his death prompted multiple investigations amid procedural failures at the jail: officers on duty did not complete the required 30-minute checks that night, and a malfunction in the jail's digital video-recording system resulted in missing CCTV footage for hours around his death, according to coverage by CBS News and other outlets.

In July 2019, the Justice Department released about 11 hours of surveillance footage from the area near Epstein's cell; subsequent reviews found the footage had been edited and was missing a minute. Although that minute was later released, independent analyses concluded the available footage still does not clearly show the entrance to Epstein's cell block. The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast.

Allegation: Epstein planned to hire a sniper to target Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson

Separately, Lownie — whose new book Entitled examines Prince Andrew's friendship with Epstein — said sources told him Epstein discussed hiring a hitman to target Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, in the weeks before his death. Lownie said two people close to Epstein, "one in Paris and another in Palm Beach," told him Epstein had grown paranoid that Andrew and Ferguson might reveal damaging information.

"I think he was getting very nervous," Lownie said, adding that Epstein feared Ferguson might "spill the beans."

On his Substack, Lownie wrote that a source claimed Epstein "had been in talks with a notorious U.K. sniper for hire," and quoted a former friend of Epstein as saying, "If Jeffrey hadn't died, Andrew and Fergie would have been murdered. They knew too much about his sex trafficking ring." Lownie also reported a source saying Epstein believed members of the British royal family might be plotting against him.

Last month, King Charles III formally removed his younger brother's military ranks and the "Duke of York" title and ordered him to vacate royal residences amid controversy tied to his association with Epstein. When asked about Lownie's allegations and Epstein's death, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Beast: "Why isn't the Daily Beast concerned with their own employee—Michael Wolff—closely corresponding with and offering advice to Jeffrey Epstein?"

Note: The claims reported here are allegations made by Andrew Lownie based on documents and sources he described; they have not been independently verified in this article. The Department of Justice's 2023 report concluded Epstein's death was a suicide, and inquiries into the handling of the case and prison procedures remain a subject of public scrutiny.