Jeffrey Epstein’s prison guard Googled him before his death, DOJ reveals

Tova Noel, a correctional officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, was one of two guards previously accused of falsifying records to claim they had conducted routine checks on Epstein during the night shift prior to his death on August 10, 2019, according to documents seen by The New York Post.

Prosecutors had alleged that Noel and fellow guard Michael Thomas failed to complete required 30-minute checks while the convicted sex offender was held in the special housing unit.

According to an FBI forensic investigation into prison computer activity, Noel searched for “the latest news about Epstein in prison” at 5:42 a.m. and again at 5:52 a.m. on the morning of Epstein’s death. Less than 40 minutes later, Thomas reportedly found the 66-year-old financier hanging in his cell at 6:30 am.

The FBI flagged the searches in a 66-page forensic examination of the Bureau of Prisons desktop computers used by the two guards. The search for Epstein was the only internet activity highlighted in the report.

Earlier in the shift, investigators said Noel spent time browsing furniture online, while Thomas looked at motorcycles instead of conducting mandatory checks on the inmates.

When Noel was questioned under oath by the Justice Department in 2021, she denied looking up Epstein online.

“I don’t remember doing that,” she said during the interview, according to the transcript.

She also disputed the accuracy of the data. “I don’t remember looking him up,” Noel insisted, adding that the FBI’s computer records were not “accurate.”