Member of the public sent images to state lawmakers, claiming they showed dug-up burial sites, emails show.
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A member of the public claims to have seen “grave-like plots” at Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch in New Mexico and has shared photos of the purported burial sites with lawmakers investigating the late American sex offender.
The tipster shared the images with the two state lawmakers last month amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s activities at the Zorro Ranch.
The claims, which have not been independently verified, have not been previously reported and do not appear to be included in the Epstein files publicly disclosed by the United States Department of Justice.
The department had releases millions of pages related to criminal investigations of the financier in late January, some of which referenced Epstein’s New Mexico ranch.
Al Jazeera obtained the tipster’s correspondence and photos via a public records request with the New Mexico Department of Justice.
In an email on February 16, a member of the public whose name has been redacted told Democratic Representatives Andrea Romero and Marianna Anaya that he or she had broken into Epstein’s former ranch in 2020 and come across multiple plots that “were dug up”.
The tipster, who included two photos of purported plots with the email, speculated that bodies had been “removed” from the sites.
“I realize this might be illegal,” the person wrote, referring to their act of venturing onto the property, “but men like that don’t deserve the protection of the law.”
The tipster also shared photos of the exterior of Epstein’s mansion and a white yurt located on the grounds of the property, as well as pictures of a defibrillator and a statue of a man of African appearance purportedly taken from inside the tent.
“In the White Yurt, they must have been doing rituals where they felt like they needed a defibrillator,” the person wrote.
Romero, who is leading a bipartisan commission looking into Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, forwarded the correspondence to Kyle Hartsock, the director of special investigations at the New Mexico Department of Justice, who assured the lawmaker that the tip was “being looked into”.
