Jeffrey Epstein's death: Suicide or murder?

After disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019, accounts differed as to whether his cellmate had tried to kill Epstein or prevent him from committing suicide, according to a forthcoming book.

Epstein, who was convicted of sex trafficking minors, was found unconscious with injuries to his neck on the floor of his secure cellblock at the Metropolitan Correction Center on Aug. 10, 2019.

Nicholas Tartaglione, a hulking ex-cop facing the death penalty on federal murder and drug charges, was Epstein’s cellmate. Tartaglione, 51, reportedly would not cooperate with authorities after Epstein’s death.  

His lawyer said Tartaglione was friendly with Epstein and denied that he had anything to do with his death. He theorized that his client was being set up because Tartaglione has filed complaints about the prison’s alleged inhumane conditions. 

The details are relayed in an excerpt from the upcoming book "Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story," written by Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown.

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"For reasons that remain unexplained to this day, the Metropolitan Correctional Center had bunked a hulking accused quadruple murderer with a sixty-six-year-old nerd with an egg-shaped penis who happened to be the nation’s most famous child molester," reads an excerpt from the book. 

According to Brown, a series of "suspicious events" followed Epstein’s death beginning with surveillance video of the incident disappearing. 

"Prison officials said it was inadvertently destroyed. Tartaglione had an illegal cell phone, but the government wasn’t releasing its contents. To this day, authorities have never released a report on their investigation into the event," the book states. 

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"Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story" is set for release on Tuesday. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.