Unverified claims have emerged about the presence of 'grave-like plots' at the former Zorro Ranch of the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in New Mexico. A member of the public reportedly informed state lawmakers via correspondence last month that they illegally entered the ranch in 2020 and encountered multiple 'dug up' sites, providing photographs. The allegations have not been independently verified and do not appear in the Epstein files publicly disclosed by the United States Department of Justice.
Al Jazeera obtained the tipster's correspondence and photos through a public records request with the New Mexico Department of Justice. In a February 16 email, a redacted individual told Democratic Representatives Andrea Romero and Marianna Anaya that bodies might have been 'removed' from the sites. The tipster also shared images of Epstein's mansion exterior, a white yurt on the property, a defibrillator, and a statue of a man of African appearance purportedly taken inside the yurt.
Romero, who leads a bipartisan commission investigating Epstein's activities in New Mexico, forwarded the correspondence to Kyle Hartsock, director of special investigations at the state Department of Justice, who allegedly assured her the tip was 'being looked into'. Romero told Al Jazeera she could not provide further information on the credibility of the claims, stating details would emerge during the investigation. Anaya and Hartsock did not respond to requests for comment.
Last month, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez ordered authorities to reopen inquiries into Zorro Ranch after the U.S. Justice Department's latest release of files included unverified claims about Epstein's time at the property. Among them was an anonymous 2019 email that purportedly stated the bodies of two foreign girls were buried outside the ranch on orders from Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
State authorities began searching Zorro Ranch last week, saying in a statement that investigators would 'follow the facts wherever they lead'. Epstein owned the ranch, located about 50km south of Santa Fe, from 1993 until his death in prison in 2019 following indictment on sex-trafficking charges. Nearly a dozen Epstein accusers have claimed they were abused at the property, although he was never charged with any crimes in New Mexico while alive.
Source: www.aljazeera.com