The family of Virginia Giuffre – who accused Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew – has shared a sad statement in which they praised her as a “fierce warrior” after she took her own life.
The 41-year-old was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17 – a claim which Prince Andrew has vehemently denied.
The campaigner died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia. Paying tribute to the mum of three, her family said she was “the light that lifted so many survivors” since she became one of the earliest and loudest voices calling for criminal charges against Epstein.
The family said in a statement: “It is with utterly broken hearts we announce 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.”
Virginia, raised in Florida, was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein as a teen. The abuse lasted three years from 1999 to 2003. He was eventually found unresponsive in his jail cell in New York more than 15 years later before he could stand trial.
