By Angus Dalton
Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew, has died in Western Australia. She was 41.
Giuffre died by suicide on her farm in Neergabby, north of Perth, her family said in a statement.
Virginia Giuffre outside a Manhattan court after Jeffrey Epstein’s death in 2019.Credit: AP
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” the statement said. “She lost her life to suicide after being a lifelong victim of 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.”
WA Police said authorities had responded to a report of a deceased 41-year-old woman in Neergabby on Friday night, and that the death was not suspicious.
Giuffre’s publicist Dini von Mueffling described her as “deeply loving, wise and funny”.
“She adored her children and many animals. She was always more concerned with me than with herself,” von Mueffling said in a statement. “I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Giuffre was one of the most important and earliest voices in speaking out on Epstein, whom she accused of grooming and trafficking her to his associates for sexual acts.
In lawsuits against Epstein, Giuffre said she was a teenage spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago – US President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach club – when she was approached in 2000 by Epstein’s girlfriend and later employee, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre said Maxwell hired her as a masseuse for Epstein, but the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.
She said Epstein flew her around the world for assignations with men, including Prince Andrew when she was 17 and 18.
Giuffre reached a settlement in 2022 with Prince Andrew, who has always denied her claims.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as young as 14.
Virginia Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen, when she said she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew, among others.Credit: TNS
Giuffre said she met her now-husband in 2002 while taking massage training in Thailand at Epstein’s behest. She married, moved to Australia and had three children.
The birth of her daughter in 2010 inspired her to speak out publicly. “It was when she held her newborn daughter in her arms that Virginia realised she had to fight back against those who had abused her and so many others,” her family’s statement said.
Giuffre founded an anti-sex trafficking charity, SOAR, in 2015.
In late March, Giuffre garnered attention after she posted a photo of herself with extensive bruising on Instagram and said she had days to live. She claimed a school bus had crashed into her car at high speed, although police later said the accident was minor and no injuries were reported.
With AP
If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1800 512 348, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or the National Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).