Fact check: No tie between Ghislaine Maxwell trial, NYC chief medical examiner's departure

The claim: The NYC medical officer who autopsied Epstein resigned on first day of Maxwell trial

As the sex trafficking trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell continues, some on social media are connecting erroneous dots about the trial and other news events.

"The NYC Chief Medical Officer Who Ruled Epstein Killed Himself Resigned On The First Day Of The Ghislaine Maxwell Trial," reads a Dec. 5 Facebook post. 

The Facebook post accumulated more than 2,000 likes and 500 shares in less than a day. Numerous Twitter users have also shared the claim. 

Maxwell was a close associate of late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,  and she is accused of procuring underage girls for him to sexually abuse. She was federally indicted in July 2020.

Former New York City chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson did publicly resign Nov. 29, the same day Maxwell's trial began. But a spokesperson for the office told USA TODAY that Sampson announced her resignation internally a week prior and that her last day was Nov. 30.

But there's no reason to believe the two events are connected.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

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NYC top medical examiner left for private sector job

Sampson, the first woman to lead the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, announced her resignation Nov. 29 in an interview with ABC News. She ruled in 2019 that Epstein had died by suicide.

Maxwell's federal sex trafficking trial began on Nov. 29, as well. But there's no evidence linking the two together.

Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office, told USA TODAY there is "no merit whatsoever" to the claim. Sampson's last day was Nov. 30 – not Nov. 29, the day Maxwell's trial began – and she announced her departure plans internally more than a week prior, Bolcer said.

The former chief medical examiner told ABC she took a job with the Mount Sinai Health System after 23 years with the city's chief medical examiner's office, nine of which she held the title of chief. Her last years were marked by the pandemic. 

“We were so overwhelmed with the number of fatalities here in the city that we needed every OCME employee to be part of our COVID response,” Sampson told ABC.

Sampson did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. 

Our rating: Missing context

Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT the claim that the NYC medical officer who autopsied Epstein resigned on the first day of the Maxwell trial. A spokesperson for the New York City chief medical examiner's office told USA TODAY Sampson announced her resignation internally a week prior to her public resignation on Nov. 29, the day the Maxwell trial began. There's no evidence the two events are related.

Our fact-check sources:

• Julie Bolcer, Dec. 5 and 8, email exchange with USA TODAY
• ABC News, Nov. 29, New York City chief medical examiner resigning
• USA TODAY, Aug. 16, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein's death officially ruled a suicide by New York City's chief medical examiner
• USA TODAY, Nov. 29, Maxwell trial to focus on her, not Jeffrey Epstein
• USA TODAY, Nov. 29, Ghislaine Maxwell's accusers say she sexually exploited them. Here's what her trial may reveal

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