Obamas’ chef wasn’t found dead on the anniversary of Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide
FILE- Jeffrey Epstein appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 30, 2008. Social media posts are falsely suggesting that former President Barack Obama’s personal chef, Tafari Campbell, was found dead in 2023 on the anniversary of Epstein’s 2019 suicide. (Uma Sanghvi/Palm Beach Post via AP, File)
CLAIM: Former President Barack Obama’s personal chef, Tafari Campbell, was found dead on the anniversary of Jeffrey Epstein’s death.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Campbell’s body was recovered from a pond on Martha’s Vineyard on July 24 after he went under water while paddleboarding a day earlier. A headline about Epstein in posts circulating online refers to the disgraced financier being found in his jail cell with injuries on July 23, 2019, but Epstein killed himself weeks later. He was pronounced dead on Aug. 10, 2019.
THE FACTS: A popular post shared on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, and also on Instagram suggests that Campbell and Epstein, who was facing federal sex trafficking charges, died on the same day four years apart.
“So today a body is found in Obama’s pond,” reads the Monday post. “This on the same day as this anniversary of Epstein. Something big coming?”
The post includes a screenshot of a headline reading: “BREAKING: Jeffrey Epstein Found Injured in NYC Jail Cell After Possible Suicide Attempt or Assault.” It doesn’t show the date or provide any more details about that incident or when Epstein actually died.
In reality, that July 24, 2019, news report was about Epstein being found injured in his Manhattan jail cell following a suspected July 23 suicide attempt. Epstein survived that incident and was placed on suicide watch.
Weeks later, Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell early Aug. 10 and pronounced dead soon after. The Associated Press last month reported on newly obtained records that provided new details on Epstein’s detention and death.
Campbell’s body, meanwhile, was found Monday — July 24 — as part of a search that began a day earlier following reports that a paddleboarder in Edgartown Great Pond went under water and didn’t resurface. Campbell was not wearing a life jacket, police said.
The 45-year-old from Virginia had worked at the White House during the Obama administration and then worked for the former president and first lady.
Massachusetts State Police said in a statement provided to the AP that the investigation and an initial medical examiner review found no evidence the death was suspicious. Officials say there was no external trauma or injuries.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.