New Mexico authorities reopen investigation into 2 bodies allegedly buried outside Epstein ranch

New Mexico authorities have reopened an investigation into two bodies that were allegedly buried outside a ranch previously owned by deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The state's Justice Department told The Hill news outlet on Thursday that state Democrat Attorney General Raúl Torrez ordered the investigation after reviewing documents from the most recent batch of Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department.

A state Justice Department spokesperson said a prior investigation was closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York but revelations found in the new batch warrant further examination.

Last week, the state Justice Department sent a letter to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting access to the un-redacted copy of a 2019 email from an anonymous sender that alleged two girls were buried in the hills near the ranch, which is about 30 miles from Santa Fe.

The state also requested the sender’s full identifying details, recipient information, transmission data, routing information, time stamps, and other data connected to the communication, in addition to unredacted copies of all other records that reference Zorro Ranch.

The email was sent a few months after Epstein's 2019 death to a New Mexico radio show host who had discussed the Zorro Ranch on his program, Reuters reported.

The sender claimed to be a former Zorro Ranch employee, and requested payment of one bitcoin in return for videos that the email said had been taken from Epstein's house and showed the financier having sex with minors.

The email said two foreign girls had been buried on Epstein's orders "somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro," and that the two had died "by strangulation during rough, fetish sex."

The host told Reuters that he believed the email to be legitimate and immediately forwarded it to the FBI.

On Monday, the New Mexico state legislature unanimously approved a measure to form a bipartisan special committee to probe “Zorro ranch and the related allegations of criminal activity.”

Former Texas GOP state Sen. Don Huffines, who is running for state comptroller, purchased the ranch in 2023, with the proceeds from the sale reportedly going to Epstein’s victims. Huffines said this week that he plans to turn the property into a Christian retreat.