ANKARA
State lawmakers expanded investigations and set up a "Truth Commission" to probe allegations that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's crimes extended to his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
The New Mexico State Legislature established a bipartisan "Truth Commission" panel of four members to probe claims of sexual harassment and other crimes allegedly committed at the desert ranch, which Epstein purchased in 1993, and was sold in 2023 after his death in 2019.
Recent US Department of Justice documents include an anonymous 2019 email alleging two foreign women were strangled during violent sexual encounters and buried near the ranch on orders from Epstein and "Madam G," commonly understood to refer to Ghislaine Maxwell.
New Mexico's Land Commissioner urged federal and state authorities to investigate these claims.
Among the released files is correspondence referencing a reproduction of Cornelis van Haarlem's 1591 painting "The Massacre of the Innocents," described in one note as depicting a scene where babies are being killed.
Epstein reportedly commissioned the large-scale copy for display at the ranch entrance.
The sprawling 7,600-acre property, located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Santa Fe in the desert scrub, has long been the subject of rumors and survivor accounts of abuse, but federal probes have not fully addressed activities there.
The ranch also drew Epstein's interest in fringe scientific pursuits, including meetings with scientists from the Santa Fe Institute, a renowned nonprofit research center focused on complex systems and discussions of transhumanism and eugenics-inspired ideas, such as using the ranch for genetic experiments.
The Truth Commission seeks to close these investigative gaps, address longstanding survivor accounts, and restore public confidence.
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
*Writing by Selcuk Uysal