Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, died by suicide at the age of 41, said her family.
Ms. Giuffre was one of the most frank accusers of sexual offenders condemned Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, her former girlfriend. She allegedly alleged that they had tampered with the Duke of York at the age of 17, which Prince Andrew was lively.
Relatives declared on Friday in a statement that she had been a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse”, and that “the balance sheet of abuse … has become unbearable”.
“She lost her life because of suicide, after being the victim of sexual violence and sex trafficking,” they said.
The declaration described the mother of three “like the light that raised so many survivors” and said that she died on Friday on her farm in Western Australia.
Australia-Western police said they were called in a home in the Neergabby region on Friday evening, where Ms. Giuffre was found insensitive.
A press release continued: “Death is the subject of an investigation by the main detectives of the crime; the early indication is that death is not suspect.”
Ms. Giuffre – who was born in the United States – lived with her children and her husband Robert in the suburbs of North Perth, although recent reports suggested that the couple had separated after 22 years of marriage.
Three weeks ago, Ms. Giuffre posted on Instagram to say that she was seriously injured in a car accident, that her family later said that she had not intended to make public. Local police subsequently challenged the severity of the accident.
In a press release, Ms. Giuffre’s long-standing spokesperson, Dini von Mueffling, described it as “one of the most extraordinary human beings that I have ever had the honor of knowing”.
She said that Ms. Giuffre was a “lighthouse for other survivors and victims” and that “it was the privilege of a life to represent it”.
After making her allegations of abuse public, Ms. Giuffre became a leading activist and was closely associated with the Me Too movement.
Ms. Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had treated it to Prince Andrew at the age of 17.
The prince, who denied all complaints against him, reached a regulation outside the field with her in 2022.
The regulations included a declaration in which he expressed his regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of responsibility or apology.
Ms. Giuffre said that she had become a victim of sexual trafficking when she was a teenager.
She said she had met Maxwell, a British worldly in 2000.
From there, she said that she had been presented to the American financier Epstein and years of mistreatment presumed by him and his associates.
Epstein followed his life in prison in 2019, where he was detained while waiting for a sex trafficking trial.
He was already convicted in 2008 for having requested prostitution of a minor.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States for his role in the milking and abuse of Epstein.
If you suffer from distress or despair, details of help and support in the United Kingdom are available at BBC Action Line. In the United States, you can contact National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the crisis test line by sending an SMS home at 741741. Help is also available in the United States and Canada by composing 988.
