…the government literally locked the doors of congress yesterday to keep opposition leader Juan Guaidó from being re-elected Speaker of the National Assembly. Guaidó was stopped from entering the legislature by national guards. Images showed him trying to climb an iron fence to get into the building.

Inside, only pro-government politicians were allowed to attend the vote. Rival lawmaker Luis Parra told state television the vote was taken without Mr. Guaidó because he “had not arrived.” Parra declared himself winner, and State broadcasters later described him as the new Speaker. Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro was quick to back Parra.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden on Monday said the photos showing injuries to Epstein’s neck convince him that the “findings are more indicative of homicide” than a suicide.

“I think there’s a lot of information that still hasn’t been revealed yet that is essential in order to arrive at a conclusion, whether this is a suicide or homicide,” Baden, the pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother to investigate his death, said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.

“I think the closing out of the case as a suicide so quickly was premature.”

The photos show makeshift nooses Epstein supposedly made out of bedsheets at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. But his neck is deeply marked, prompting questions about whether a cotton sheet could cut so deeply.

Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said the photo showing the marks on Epstein’s neck “doesn’t match the ligature that was found at the scene and that the medical examiner copied to show how he was hanged.”

He added that “it was too wide and too smooth. This is a rougher injury.”

And he had more.

Baden also questioned Epstein’s two fractures on the left and right sides of his larynx, specifically the thyroid cartilage or Adam’s apple, and on the left hyoid bone above the Adam’s apple.

The doctor also said there are many unanswered questions. “I think the important thing is to find out what was seen when the guards first went into the cell. Was he hanging? Was he on the ground? As some people reported when he was found,” Baden said.

And he said “the removal of the body destroyed a lot of the forensic evidence.”

“EMS is not supposed to remove dead bodies from jails,” Baden said. “They’re supposed to have a whole forensic workup, what kind of forensic evidence is on the clothing, how long the person was dead.

“We can tell from the ligature mark that he had been — there was a tight ligature around his neck for many hours, and the front of the neck, before he was found — so he was dead for a long time. But we could be more specific about that if somebody tested out the stiffness of the body, et cetera, at the scene.”

“A lot was lost when the body was removed,” he said.

For the first time, we get to look at the noose Epstein used to allegedly kill himself. Photos admitted as evidence reveal a clean cloth with no blood, despite Epstein's clearly bloody neck. Moreover, both ends of the noose were hemmed, not cut - while the guard who found Epstein reportedly cut him down.

Also odd is that Epstein's ligature wound, allegedly left by said bloodless noose, is fairly low on his neck.


"It doesn't look like anybody ever took scissors to it," said 60 Minutes' Sharyn Alfonsi. "So there is some question—is that the right noose?"

No photo exists of Epstein's body as it was found in his cell, Dr. Baden said.