Surveillance footage taken outside late financier Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell in the period surrounding his first apparent attempt on his own life was accidentally deleted, a US court has been told.
Officials at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center "inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier" of the jail and footage from outside Epstein's cell "no longer exists", prosecutors said on Thursday.
Corrections officers responded about 1.27 am on 23 July last year to Epstein's cell, prosecutors said, when the accused sex offender was believed to have first attempted suicide.
Some of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims, including Virginia Roberts Giuffre (C) exit the a court in New York, August 2019. Source: AAP
The missing video was disclosed in a Manhattan federal court filing, in a case involving Epstein's cellmate at the time.
Epstein died on 10 August at age 66, in what was ruled a suicide. An autopsy found he hanged himself.
The death prompted a shakeup at the federal Bureau of Prisons, including the removal of its acting chief and the warden at MCC.
Two MCC jail officers were charged in November with falsifying records to cover up their alleged failure to check on Epstein in his final hours.
Epstein died five weeks after his arrest on federal charges he trafficked dozens of underage girls from at least 2002 to 2005.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell together in 2005. Maxwell is now being investigated by the FBI. Source: Getty Images
Some accusers have said Epstein engaged in sexual misconduct dating back to the mid-1980s.
Epstein had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors could still file charges against his alleged accomplices.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at and .
