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Jeffrey Epstein’s high-profile accuser Virginia Giuffre, who also filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew, has died by suicide. The family released a statement announcing her death aged 41, saying that she was a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
Ms Giuffre first made headlines around world in 2011, when a 2001 photograph of her as a teenager with Prince Andrew’s arm around her was first published. Said to have been taken by the now deceased Jeffrey Epstein, also in the picture is Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is now serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of helping Epstein groom and sexually abuse underage girls.
Ms Giuffre filed lawsuits against Epstein and Maxwell and spoke publicly about her claims against them. In 2021, she filed a case against Prince Andrew claiming that she was sexually abused by him when she was under 18. He has always denied the allegations, saying in his notorious 2019 TV interview he had no memory of meeting her, but settled the case in 2022.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia. She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” Ms Giuffre’s family said in a statement on Saturday, per the Daily Telegraph. “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure.”
The statement added that Virginia’s three children were “the light of her life.” It ended, “In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.”
Ms Giuffre was active on social media throughout the years. On March 30, she had posted a photograph of herself on Instagram looking injured and saying that she had been in an accident and been given four days to live. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Police said the crash was minor.
Contributing Editor
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.
