In the final frantic days before police raided Jeffrey Epstein’s opulent Palm Beach mansion in 2005, three private investigators slipped inside and removed more than 100 pieces of potential evidence — including three desktop computers, explicit photographs, videos, and a list of young masseuses — quietly handing everything over to Epstein’s legal team. Those items vanished from the investigation forever.
Now, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have fired off a formal letter demanding the investigators — Paul Lavery, Stephen Kiraly, and William Riley — appear before Congress to testify under oath and preserve any remaining materials, raising explosive questions about why critical evidence was spirited away right under law enforcement’s nose.
What devastating secrets did those missing computers hold, and who else benefited from their disappearance? The answers could finally shatter two decades of silence around one of America’s darkest scandals.
In the final frantic days before Palm Beach police raided Jeffrey Epstein’s opulent mansion at 358 El Brillo Way in October 2005, three private investigators slipped inside and removed more than 100 pieces of potential evidence. The trove included three desktop computers (two Dell and one HP), explicit photographs, videos, dozens of bound telephone directories, a three-page list of nearby masseuses, sex toys, undergarments, a Harvard University ID card, a concealed weapons permit, and other items. Everything was quietly handed over to Epstein’s legal team and never reached law enforcement. When officers executed the search warrant, the computers were conspicuously missing, leaving only loose wires and keyboards in their place.
According to an October 2005 memo from private investigator William Riley to Epstein’s defense attorney Roy Black, investigator Paul Lavery visited the residence around October 7—less than two weeks before the raid—at Black’s direction. Lavery removed the “items of potential evidentiary value” and turned them over to Riley for inventory and safekeeping on Epstein’s behalf. Riley later confirmed the materials were placed in storage units across Palm Beach County and beyond. A federal grand jury subpoenaed Riley’s firm, Riley Kiraly, for information about the devices, but the computers were never produced to authorities.
Now, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have fired off formal letters demanding accountability. On March 26, 2026, Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) sent correspondence to Paul Lavery, Stephen Kiraly (Riley’s partner at Riley Kiraly), and William Riley. The letters request voluntary transcribed interviews and immediate preservation of any materials still in their possession, including documents, communications, and electronically stored information related to Epstein. Garcia cited recent depositions, including that of Epstein’s personal attorney Darren Indyke, and stressed the need for details on the contents, reason for removal, storage, location, and any potential withholding from law enforcement. The investigators have until April 9 to respond. Garcia described the situation as “stunning,” noting that critical hard drives and evidence may never have been seen by law enforcement.
This move is part of the committee’s ongoing scrutiny of Epstein’s crimes and the systemic failures that allowed him to continue operating after the controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement, which resulted in just 13 months in county jail with work release despite allegations involving dozens of underage victims. Democrats have also scheduled a shadow field hearing in Palm Beach on April 14, 2026, to hear from survivors and witnesses.
What devastating secrets did those missing computers hold? The hard drives could have contained emails, financial records, communications, flight logs, or digital files mapping Epstein’s network of recruiters, enablers, and powerful associates. The masseuse lists and telephone directories might have traced connections to young women and girls drawn into his orbit. Explicit photos and videos—some reportedly captured via hidden cameras in the mansion—could have documented specific abuses and possible blackmail material that were never fully prosecuted. Garcia has publicly noted the potential for evidence of recordings and blackmail in the files.
The calculated timing of the removal, right under the nose of an active police investigation, raises serious questions about obstruction of justice and who else may have benefited from the disappearance of this evidence. Critics argue it highlights how Epstein’s wealth and high-powered legal team enabled parts of his alleged sex trafficking operation to evade scrutiny for years.
As Oversight Democrats push forward, testimony from Lavery, Kiraly, and Riley could prove pivotal. If the materials still exist, they might expose co-conspirators and fill critical gaps that have persisted since Epstein’s 2019 arrest and death in federal custody. If destroyed or permanently concealed, it would only intensify concerns about unequal justice and protection for the powerful.
Two decades of silence have surrounded the Epstein saga. The answers—if they emerge—could finally shatter that silence, revealing not only the devastating secrets hidden in 2005 but also how far the mechanisms shielding them truly extended.
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