Just weeks ago, Virginia Giuffre, one of the most high-profile of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers, popped up on social media to announce she had just "days to live" following a car accident. On Friday, sobering news from her family: The 41-year-old has died after taking her own life, reports NBC News. "It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia," her family said in a statement. "She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking."
NBC and the Washington Post note that Giuffre, an American who'd lived Down Under for years after marrying an Aussie martial arts instructor, died in the Neergabby area. Giuffre was one of the first women to come forward against the late Epstein, who she claimed started trafficking her when she was just 16 and known as Virginia Roberts, passing her around to his powerful friends "like a platter of fruit," per the Post. Britain's Prince Andrew was one of those powerful pals, according to Giuffre, who also named Epstein associate and former lover Ghislaine Maxwell in her trafficking accusations. Andrew has denied a sexual relationship with Giuffre, who filed suit against him in 2021.
That case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2022. Other survivors of Epstein and Maxwell says Giuffre's courage in coming forward helped them eventually do the same. "Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking," her family's statement noted, per NBC. "She was the light that lifted so many survivors. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight." Giuffre is survived by her three children, described in a statement as the "light of her life." She's reported to have been separated from her husband. (If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org.)
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