A SPRAWLING desert ranch dubbed Jeffrey Epstein’s “last refuge” is at the center of a new legal war over files that could expose further horrors linked to the convicted sex offender.
New Mexico has sued the Justice Department, accusing federal officials of blocking access to evidence needed for its criminal investigation into alleged abuse, trafficking and other sex crimes.
The probe centers on Zorro Ranch, Epstein’s isolated property south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where survivors have alleged they were abused over several decades.
It follows a disturbing anonymous claim that two “foreign girls” were strangled and buried in the hills near the estate.
The 2019 email was allegedly written by a former ranch employee and later forwarded to the FBI.
Its claims have not been proven, but the message was included among the Epstein records released by the federal government and helped fuel demands for the property to be searched.
The allegation originated in an email purportedly sent in November 2019 by someone claiming to have previously worked at the ranch.
The writer claimed two “foreign girls” were strangled during “rough, fetish sex” and buried on the orders of “Jeffrey and Madam G,” apparently referring to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The message alleged their bodies were hidden “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro.”
Its claims have not been substantiated, and authorities have not announced the discovery of any human remains.
The sender also claimed to possess seven videos taken from Epstein’s home and offered to provide them on a flash drive in exchange for one bitcoin.
Conservative radio host Eddy Aragon said he forwarded the message to the FBI after receiving it and did not accept the offer.
“It felt very legitimate to me,” Aragon previously told The U.S. Sun. “That’s why I forwarded it.”
The lawsuit reveals that New Mexico formally sought the burial-related file from then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on February 13.
Exactly one month later, Attorney General Raúl Torrez wrote to then-US Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding five additional Epstein records.
According to the complaint, they include accounts from Epstein survivors who said they were brought to New Mexico and grand jury testimony from an FBI witness about abuse in the state.
Torrez told federal officials that complete versions of the records were “essential” to moving the investigation forward.
He even offered to send a New Mexico team to Justice Department headquarters in Washington to inspect the materials in person under any required security measures.
The lawsuit says no response arrived by the state’s March 27 deadline.
The New Mexico Department of Justice reopened its investigation into the ranch in February after reviewing previously sealed FBI records.
State investigators then searched Zorro Ranch on March 9 with help from New Mexico State Police and a fire department K-9 team.
It was the first law-enforcement search of the sprawling property during the renewed criminal probe, according to state officials.
Former ranch workers have since reportedly been questioned about visitors, activity at the estate and what they witnessed while working for Epstein.
One former employee said investigators were asking detailed questions about high-profile guests, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and their movements around the property.
Those questioned were being treated as potential witnesses rather than suspects and were reportedly instructed not to destroy records from their time at the ranch.
Andrew has strongly denied wrongdoing.
Torrez has now filed a federal lawsuit against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the US Department of Justice.
The case was lodged Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Torrez is demanding access to unredacted investigative files that he says could reveal victims, witnesses and other people tied to Epstein’s activities in New Mexico.
The complaint alleges federal officials are unlawfully obstructing the state’s power to investigate crimes committed within its borders.
The state says it is investigating potential felonies that include homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking and sexual offenses.
Its formal request highlighted nine Epstein records that allegedly show patterns of criminal conduct involving Epstein, Maxwell and their associates in New Mexico.
The lawsuit says one federal prosecution memo describes an alleged sexual assault at Zorro Ranch involving a woman other than Maxwell.
Another FBI summary reportedly recounts a survivor saying her first assault occurred in New Mexico while Epstein and another person were in the room.
New Mexico argues that redactions are concealing the identities of people in Epstein’s “inner circle,” ranch visitors and employees who may have witnessed or participated in abuse.
The complaint says publicly released Epstein files contain more than 13,000 references to Zorro Ranch and another 5,000 mentions of New Mexico.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16798999/epsteins-zorro-ranch-new-lawsuit-claim-victim-bodies-buried/
