Financier Jeffrey Epstein found dead in jail cell

NEW YORK

Jeffrey Epstein has died by apparent suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York. a former law enforcement official told The Associated Press today.

The medical examiner's office in Manhattan confirmed the financier's death.

The former law enforcement official said Epstein was found dead Saturday morning at the Manhattan Correctional Center. The official had been briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly.

Epstein's arrest last month launched separate investigations into how authorities handled his case initially when similar charges were first brought against him in Florida more than a decade ago. U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned last month after coming under fire for overseeing that deal when he was U.S. attorney in Miami.