EXCLUSIVE: Chilling Jeffrey Epstein Prison Death 'Body Swap' Theory Resurfaces in Wake of 3 Million-Page DoJ Document Dump on Pedophile Sex Trafficker
Jeffrey Epstein's mysterious death is once again causing a stir.
Feb. 3 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
Jeffrey Epstein is again at the center of a chilling online storm after the massive new U.S. Justice Department document release on his case revived a long-debunked conspiracy theory claiming the disgraced financier was secretly swapped with another prisoner before he died in federal custody, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Epstein, who was 66 when he died by an apparent suicide on August 10, 2019, was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on federal s-- trafficking charges.
Who Was the Mysterious Online Poster?
An anonymous user posted details about Epstein's cell an hour before news broke.
The renewed speculation about the murky circumstances of his death follows the release of millions of pages of Justice Department material, which include subpoena records tied to a mysterious 4chan post published shortly before Epstein's death became public.
The post alleged "unusual" prison activity and has circulated for years as supposed evidence that Epstein was removed alive from the jail.
Social media users now claim the records point to Roberto Grijalva, a lieutenant at the prison at the time, as the person behind it.
One online conspiracy theorist commented: "An anonymous 4chan poster said that Epstein was wheeled out of prison hours before his reported death Subpoenas show that man was Roberto Grijalva, who was a lieutenant at the prison at this time It appears Epstein really did get broken out of prison and flown to Israel."
Citibank responded to a subpoena seeking financial records for a 4chan account.
According to the newly released DoJ material on Epstein, Grijalva's name appears in Citibank's response to a subpoena seeking financial records linked to the 4chan account.
Online speculation has seized on the fact Grijalva also gave statements during the prison's internal investigation into Epstein's death, though the documents themselves do not conclude he authored the post.
The original 4chan message, published about an hour before news outlets reported Epstein had been found unresponsive, claimed to describe first-hand observations inside his jail cell.
The post alleged Epstein was moved in a wheelchair, that an unmarked transport van entered the facility, and that guards were confused by the sequence of events.
NBC News has reported: "Less than an hour before the first news reports surfaced that Jeffrey Epstein had been found unresponsive in his jail cell, a post about his death mysteriously appeared on a far-right message board."
Viral Claims of a Legitimate Eyewitness
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman opened a grand jury proceeding following the post.
Another online user said about the fresh revelation surrounding the theory Epstein was swapped with another prisoner before his suicide: "THIS IS HUGE. The individual who anonymously posted on 4Chan the morning of Epstein's death, August 10, 2019, claiming he witnessed weird happenings at the prison before Epstein's death has been identified in the Epstein files.
"Roberto Grijalva, an officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York has been identified as the anonymous prison employee who posted on 4Chan claiming Epstein left his cell Friday evening shackled in a medical wheelchair while at the same time an unauthorized trip van arrived at the prison, which he believes took Epstein away the night BEFORE news broke of his death.
"The day after Epstein's death, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman of the SDNY opened a Grand Jury proceeding and subpoenaed 4Chan, Apple, AT&T and Citibank for records aiming to uncover Grijalva's identity following the anonymous 4Chan post."
Official Rejection of the Body Swap Theory
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Official reviews concluded Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell.
Despite the renewed claims, the so-called Epstein body swap theory has been repeatedly rejected by official investigations.
Multiple justice department reviews concluded Epstein died by suicide, citing guard negligence and protocol failures, including guards falsifying logs and malfunctioning cameras.
Autopsy findings, video metadata, and witness testimony found no evidence that Epstein was replaced by another inmate.
Conspiracy theories have persisted in part because of the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death and his earlier 2008 plea deal, which critics described as unusually lenient.
While the new DoJ Epstein document dump has reignited online speculation, investigators have consistently said the evidence does not support claims of a prison switch of the pedophile's body – a conclusion unchanged by the resurfacing of a six-year-old, but still sensational, anonymous post.
