A new bipartisan commission formed to investigate the ranch formerly owned by notorious convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein began Tuesday in New Mexico. Files recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice suggest the property may have been tied to Epstein’s apparent interest in eugenics.
“The Survivors Truth Commission to investigate what happened at Zorro Ranch has passed,” said State Rep. Marianna Anaya (D) in a Monday Facebook post. “We’re ready to get to work. Our first meeting is tomorrow.
Survivors: I’m so sorry these systems failed you. We see you and we hear you and we’ll walk beside you in your quest for justice.”
Epstein’s vast ranch near Stanley, N.M., has been linked to his alleged plan to “seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women,” since at least 2019, according to The New York Times. That July – before Epstein’s death in a Manhattan prison cell the following month – the outlet reported that four people familiar with Epstein’s plans said he confided to scientists about it for years.
“Mr. Epstein’s vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence,” The New York Times explained. “Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding.”
Eugenics also shaped the policies of Nazi Germany, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
As of 2019, the NYT said “there is no evidence that it ever came to fruition,” regarding Epstein’s plan. However, documents included in the DOJ’s massive dump of files related to Epstein at the request of Congress might shed new light on it.
One document seems to be a diary entry from a young woman who describes giving birth to a baby. It includes a description of bed soaked with blood and being used as an “incubator” as well as a pregnancy scan. The entry references “Jeffrey” and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. There are also refences to plans for a “superior gene pool” described as “Nazi like.”
The Independent noted in a report from earlier this month that “the contents of the diary have not been verified, and the woman’s accusations against an Epstein associate have been disputed in court.”
According to the U.K.-based publication The Times, the diary entry author claimed to have given birth to a girl in 2002, when she was around 16 to 17 years old.
“The diary was shared by the woman’s lawyers, Wigdor LLP, with federal prosecutors investigating Epstein and Maxwell,” The Times said. “The woman later filed a lawsuit against the Epstein associate Leon Black, the former chief executive of Apollo Global Management, under the pseudonym Jane Doe in 2023.”
That case is continuing, the outlet added. It also said that the newly released documents suggest that Epstein may have had multiple secret children – including a message that is allegedly appears to be from Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, congratulating Epstein on the birth of a baby boy.
Another new detail about Epstein’s New Mexico property (known as Zorro Ranch) uncovered in the DOJ file release is related to art apparently commissioned for it. A 2011 email from Epstein’s assistant Sarah Kellen asks someone named Rich Barnett to “Fedex the painting he had made of the Massacre of the Innocents to the ranch. It’s the large 9’x9′ canvas that we had rolled out for him to see in the entry way where they are killing babies.”
Artnet explained that The Massacre of the Innocents likely refers to 1591 painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem that portrays a New Testament Biblical scene of children being murdered.
Former Republican Texas senator Don Huffines said in a Monday X post that his family purchased Zorro Ranch in 2023.
“At the time of the sale, it was marketed that the proceeds would go to the victims. It has since been confirmed by the estate’s attorneys that proceeds from the sale benefited the victims,” he said. “What the enemy once meant for evil, God can redeem for good. That’s why we renamed the property San Rafael, after the saint associated with physical and spiritual healing, and began plans immediately to remake it as a Christian retreat, reclaiming it for Jesus.”
He added that “the new entrance will reflect that mission and will read, ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO COME IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.’”
Huffines also said that his family’s ownership of the property has been public since 2024 and that they have “always maintained an open line of communication with local authorities,” though he also said “no law enforcement agency has ever approached me to request access.” He said that he would allow authorities immediate access and full cooperation.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the ranch covers more than 7,500 acres and it includes a 26,700-square-foot mansion, along with around a dozen other structures. It noted that an anonymous email sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed that “two foreign girls were buried,” near Zorro Ranch on Epstein and Maxwell’s orders.
“Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex,” said the anonymous email. The New Mexico state land commissioner recently urged state and federal justice departments to research the claim.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during a virtual news conference ahead of the state’s first truth commission hearing Tuesday that: “for many, many years, there were allegations of sexual assault and abuse that happened at Zorro Ranch,” per the Santa Fe New Mexican.
She added that the ranch was “only major property,” linked to Epstein “where there were known allegations of sexual assault and crimes where the federal government did not seek a warrant to investigate that property.”
“We want to know why that occurred,” Stansbury added.
In addition to Anaya, the other commission members selected by House Speaker Javier Martínez are Rep. Andrea Romero (D), Rep. Andrea Reeb (R) and Rep. Bill Hall (R).