Virginia Giuffre, a key accuser in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and a central figure in the case against Britain’s Prince Andrew, has died by suicide at her home in Western Australia, her family announced on Saturday.
In a statement released through news agencies, Giuffre's family said, "It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia." They added that she lost her life to suicide after enduring a lifetime of sexual abuse and trafficking.
Giuffre, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia, was 41 years old.
Virginia Giuffre rose to international prominence when she accused disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing her while she was still a teenager.
She also alleged that Epstein, with the assistance of Ghislaine Maxwell, coerced her into sexual encounters with several of his powerful associates, including Prince Andrew.
Her testimony shed significant light on the scale of Epstein’s abuse network, which first came under investigation in 2005 and continued to unfold even after Epstein’s death in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Giuffre had stated that she met Epstein through Maxwell while working as a teenage spa attendant at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Her courage in speaking out played a crucial role in bringing wider public attention to the depth of Epstein’s crimes.
"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," her family said.
Giuffre is survived by her three children: Christian, Noah, and Emily.
Her death marks a tragic chapter in a saga that exposed one of the most significant sex trafficking scandals of the 21st century.
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