Virginia Giuffre, an outspoken survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, has died by suicide, her family has reported.
Giuffre was one of the first people to call for criminal charges against Epstein. Giuffre recounted how she was groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell to be sexually abused by Epstein. She once said Epstein passed her around “like a platter of fruit” to other men when she was a teenager.
She also accused Epstein of trafficking her to Prince Andrew when she was 17, which the prince has denied.
According to interviews and depositions, Giuffre said she was recruited to the sex ring in 2000 by Maxwell while working as a locker room attendant in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
She was 41 when she died at her farm in Neergabby, Australia.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement provided to The Independent. “She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
Giuffre was a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” the statement continues. “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.”
Giuffre had said late last month that she only had days to live after she was involved in a collision with a school bus.
Giuffre’s brother Danny Wilson said his sister “pushed so hard to snuff the evil out” of the world.
“Her biggest push was, ‘If I don’t do this, nobody’s going to do it,'” he told NBC News of his sister’s battle. “She was in real physical pain — suffered from renal failure. But I think that the mental pain was worse.”
Giuffre’s attorney Sigrid McCawley said her client was also “a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims.”
Her spokesperson, Dini Von Mueffling, called Giuffre “deeply loving,” “wise” and “the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honor to know.”
Fellow survivors of Epstein’s abuse credit Giuffre with helping give them the courage to speak out, NBC News reported. Giuffre also provided key information to law enforcement that helped prosecutors ultimately convict Maxwell in 2021.
Epstein, 66 at the time, was charged by federal authorities with sex trafficking and conspiracy, but was found hanged in his cell after his arrest in 2019 in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. His death was ruled a suicide.
Though Prince Andrew denied Giuffre’s claims, he paid to settle her lawsuit against him accusing him of sexual assault in 2022.
Giuffre grew up in Florida, suffering sexual and physical abuse as a child. While a teen, Giuffre got a job at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as a locker room attendant.
Late last month, Giuffre posted a photo of herself in a hospital bed on Instagram, explaining that doctors told her she had “four days to live” due to kidney failure following a car wreck. She was discharged from the hospital six days later.
“This year has been the worst start to a new year. I won’t bore anyone with the details but I think it important to note that when a school bus driver comes at you driving 110km as we were slowing for a turn that no matter what your car is made of it might as well be a tin can,” she wrote.
“I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes,” she added. “S*** in one hand and wish in the other & I guarantee it’s still going to be s*** at the end of the day.”
A spokesperson for Giuffre said the Instagram post was ultimately a mistake.
“On March 24, in rural Western Australia, a school bus hit the car in which she was riding,” the spokesperson said. “Virginia was banged up and bruised and returned home. Virginia’s condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital.”
Concerning her Instagram post, “Virginia thought that she had posted on her private Facebook page,” the spokesperson added.
Giuffre had three children with her husband, Richard Giuffre. The couple reportedly split this year, according to the BBC.
Giuffre was supposed to appear in court on April 9 after being charged with violating a family violence restraining order that had been obtained by her husband, People reported. She allegedly violated the order by calling her husband on February 2. Her court appearance, however, was postponed at the request of her attorney and a judge granted her an extension until June to enter a plea.
If you are based in the U.S. and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can also speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
