Giuffre, accuser of Epstein and Prince Andrew, dies by suicide
Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse as a teenager, has died by suicide, her family said. She was 41.
Giuffre died at her farm in Western Australia on Friday night, her family said in a statement.
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking," according to the statement. "In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight."
Giuffre was one of the most outspoken Epstein victims, and filed multiple lawsuits against him, his former British socialite girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and other alleged abusers.
She settled a lawsuit against Epstein before his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York. Giuffre also sued Prince Andrew, alleging that that Epstein "lent" her to King Charles's younger brother for sexual abuse.
The accusations rocked the royal family and led to Buckingham Palace stripping him of honorific titles and royal patronages. Prince Andrew, who has consistently denied the allegations, settled the suit in 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her at the age of 16 to be sexually abused by Epstein. After Maxwell called her a liar, Giuffre sued her for defamation in 2015. That case also settled, and Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after a jury found her guilty of trafficking underage girls for Epstein.
At Maxwell's hearing, Giuffre spoke through a letter read by her lawyer.
"My promise to you is as follows: As long as you and perpetrators like you continue to prey upon the vulnerable, I will not stop standing up and speaking out," she said. "Together, with so many others you abused, we will do all we can to keep predators from stealing the innocence of children."
Giuffre's lawyer Sigrid McCawley said on Saturday that she was "an incredible champion for other victims."
Ties to Epstein have led to career downfalls for former Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black, and have tarnished the reputations of billionaires Bill Gates, Leslie Wexner and many other prominent men. All have denied knowing about or participating in inappropriate conduct with Epstein.
In 2024, several previously confidential documents related to Epstein were made public in federal court in New York. Many of the names featured in the unsealed documents were widely reported former associates of the late financier, including former President Bill Clinton. Clinton has denied knowing about Epstein's abuse.
On March 30, Giuffre said in an Instagram post that she had "days to live" after suffering renal failure following an accident involving the vehicle she was in and a school bus.
Giuffre had two sons and a daughter. She realized she had to fight her abusers after the birth of her daughter, according to the family statement.
"She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit," her family said.
(Adam Majendie contributed to this report.)
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This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 10:53 PM