New Mexico probes allegation of bodies buried near Epstein ranch
The redacted email said two foreign girls had been buried on Epstein's orders "somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro" and that the two had died "by strangulation during rough, fetish sex"
New Mexico's Department of Justice said on Wednesday the state was investigating an allegation, which emerged from documents released by the US Department of Justice, that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ordered the bodies of two foreign girls buried outside his remote New Mexico ranch.
New Mexico Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said it had requested from the US Justice Department an unredacted copy of an email in 2019 containing the allegation.
The US Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI declined comment.
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"We are actively investigating this allegation and are conducting a broader review in light of the latest release from the US Department of Justice," Rodriguez said in an emailed response to queries about the case.
A day earlier, New Mexico's legislature launched the first comprehensive investigation into accusations that Epstein sexually abused girls and women at the Zorro Ranch 30 miles (48 km) south of Santa Fe for more than two decades. Pressure from Democratic lawmakers to uncover Epstein's crimes has become a major political challenge for President Donald Trump.
The redacted 2019 email, contained in the latest release of Epstein-related documents by the US Justice Department, had been sent a few months after Epstein's death to Eddy Aragon, a New Mexico radio show host who had discussed the Zorro Ranch on his program.
The sender, claiming to be a former Zorro Ranch employee, requested payment of one bitcoin in return for videos that the email said had been taken from Epstein's house and showed the financier having sex with minors.
Aragon said in a phone interview that he believed the email to be legitimate and immediately forwarded it to the FBI. He said he did not receive any payment from or have any further contact with the sender, although he recently tried to respond to it for the first time but the address was no longer functioning.
The redacted email to Aragon said two foreign girls had been buried on Epstein's orders "somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro" and that the two had died "by strangulation during rough, fetish sex."
