2 officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein the night of his suicide have been indicted and pleaded not guilty

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• The two guards who were on duty the night of Jeffrey Epstein's suicide in a Manhattan jail were indicted on Tuesday, accused of falsifying prison records.

• Toval Noel and Michael Thomas are accused of failing to check in on Epstein every half-hour as they were supposed to, and falsifying documents saying that they had.

• Both have pleaded not guilty.

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Two guards who were on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide were charged on Tuesday with falsifying prison records.

Toval Noel and Michael Thomas were accused of failing to check in on Epstein every half-hour, and falsifying documents after saying they had, according to the Associated Press. Both pleaded not guilty.

Investigators believe the two fell asleep for several hours before Epstein was found dead from a suicide the morning of August 10.

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Epstein was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. His cell was in a high-security unit famous for holding terrorists and drug cartel leaders.

Epstein was placed on suicide watch on July 23 after he was found on the floor of his cell with bruising to his neck. But he was taken off suicide a week before his death.

Both guards were working overtime due to staffing shortages. They were both placed on administrative leave while the FBI and Justice Department's inspector general investigated Epstein's death. They previously rejected a plea deal from prosecutors, who wanted them to admit to falsifying the records.

Despite the city's medical examiner ruling Epstein's death a suicide, numerous conspiracy theories have sprouted up after his death, due Epstein's connections to prominent men like Britain's Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, and President Donald Trump. But the indictment unsealed on Tuesday reports that surveillance footage shows that no one entered Epstein's cell around the time of his death.

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