New Mexico to Probe Allegation that Epstein Ordered the Burial of Teen Girls Near His Ranch

New Mexico Begins Investigating Allegations of Abuse at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch Property.

As victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s multinational sex trafficking operation continue to push for justice, New Mexico authorities look into allegations of buried bodies at Epstein’s Zorro ranch, about 30 miles from Santa Fe.

In other news, a study finds that the right cognitive training can reduce dementia risk over two decades, and California’s mental health diversion is applied to a perjury case involving a retired California Highway Patrol officer. Last week,  New Mexico lawmakers approved an investigation into alleged sex abuse at Zorro ranch – an isolated property owned by the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – following its appearance in files recently released by the Justice Department.

On Wednesday, a day after the launch of the investigation, the state announced it was probing into an allegation that Epstein ordered the bodies of two girls to be buried outside the 7,600 acre property around 30 miles from Santa Fe, Reuters reported.

The allegations are based on a redacted email sent shortly after Epstein’s death by someone who claimed to be a former employee at Zorro ranch. He said two foreign girls who died “by strangulation during rough, fetish sex” had been buried near the property at Epstein’s direction, Reuters reported. Lauren Rodriguez, spokesperson for New Mexico’s state Department of Justice, said it had requested an unredacted copy of the email and all other files pertaining to Zorro ranch.

State lawmakers say their state’s bipartisan Epstein Truth Commission – established by a unanimous vote of New Mexico legislators – is the first full investigation into the property, which Epstein bought in 1993.

The four-member committee will take testimony from survivors who say they were sexually abused at the ranch, aiming “to close gaps in New Mexico law that may have allowed Epstein to operate in the state,” according to Reuters. (A 2019 investigation was put on hold following a request from federal prosecutors.)  

Democratic state representative Andrea Romero, who co-sponsored the initiative creating the commission, told The Guardian by email that the commission will “do everything within our power to seek answers for the public about what occurred at Zorro ranch, and to pursue justice for every victim who was allegedly harmed there.” 

While Epstein’s properties in New York, Paris, Palm Beach and the Caribbean have all been searched at some point, state and local officials told The Guardian that they weren’t aware of any federal search at Zorro ranch, despite civil lawsuits and testimonies placing abuse there from survivors including Annie Farmer and the late Virginia Giuffre.

“Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico,” said attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose firm has represented hundreds of Epstein victims.

Yesterday, the British Medical Journal published an opinion piece on the importance of prioritizing survivors in the case. Jocalyn Clark, an editor at the journal, noted that “Sexual exploitation and abuse have devastating physical and mental health harms that often last a lifetime. The harms are compounded by survivors’ experiences of being ignored or silenced.” 

In the case of Epstein’s abuse, Clark wrote, “women raised concerns about Epstein’s criminal behaviour in the 1990s but weren’t taken seriously by authorities. This is a common form of revictimization – extending trust and impunity to male perpetrators while dismissing or gaslighting girls and women when they seek help. It is also a serious failure of justice: if victims are not believed, future violence cannot be prevented.” Starting in the 1990s, more than 2,000 older adults participated in an experiment to see if brain exercises could increase the brain’s processing speed.

Now, a newly released study that tracked the participants over time found that those who completed eight to 10 cognitive speed training sessions, each about an hour long, were 25% less likely to be  diagnosed with dementia two decades later.  Marilyn Albert, one of the study’s authors, called the finding “astonishing.” One potential explanation is that this form of training triggers “implicit learning,” the same automatic skill acquisition as swimming, tying a shoelace or riding a bike. “We know that implicit learning operates differently in the brain and has more long-lasting effects,” Albert said.

An online program called BrainHQ includes the same speed exercises used in the study, and one user in his 70s compared it to sit-ups. “You can learn to ride a bike in about 10 hours of training,” and still know how to ride a bike 20 years later, even if you don’t practice in all that time, neuroscientist Henry Mahnake, CEO of BrainHQ’s parent company Posit Science told NPR, because “you will still have a bike-riding brain.”

A new study called PACT (Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training) is currently looking into the benefits of much more training – 45 sessions over several years – and has enrolled more than 7,500 participants aged 65 or older. Early results are expected in 2028.

In other news….

A retired California Highway Patrol officer facing up to 24 years of prison time for issuing questionable traffic tickets is instead being allowed to attend therapy for two years, as part of California’s mental health diversion program. The officer, Michelle Reinert, was charged with perjury in relation to three particular speeding tickets. Reinert had no criminal history, but the evidence, including film from dash cameras, was “overwhelming,” according to the district attorney. 

Reinert’s defense attorney Jim Granucci filed for pre-trial mental health diversion, which allows some people in California with a qualifying mental health diagnosis to undergo treatment and avoid a trial. Granucci argued that Reinert was suffering from PTSD, and said in court that she had been diagnosed by two psychiatrists and a therapist.

A judge ultimately granted Reinert’s request for mental health diversion. If she completes its conditions –  including regularly attending therapy, completing 240 hours of community service and writing apology letters to her alleged victims – the court will dismiss her perjury case.

Read more by Diana Hembree