Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most outstanding survivors, has died for suicide, her family said Friday.
Giuffre, 41, died in Dutegabby, Australia, where he had been living for several years.
Giuffre was one of the oldest and most noisy voices that requested criminal charges against Epstein and his facilitators. Other survivors of Epstein abuse then attributed to him to give them the courage to speak.
He also provided critical information to the application of the law that contributed to the investigation and then to the condemnation of Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as other investigations of the United States Prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
“It is with completely broken hearts that we announce that Virginia died last night on her farm in Western Australia,” his family said in a statement to NBC News. “He lost his life for suicide, after being a life of a lifetime of sexual abuse and sexual trafficking.”
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sexual trafficking. It was the light that raised so many survivors,” the statement said. “In the end, the cost of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable that Virginia handled its weight.”
Raised mainly in Florida, Giuffre had a problematic childhood. She said she was abused by a family friend, causing a descending spiral who led her to live in the streets for a while when she was a teenager.
He was trying to rebuild his life when he met Maxwell, the close confidant of Epstein. Maxwell prepared her to be sexually abused by Epstein, and that abuse continued from 1999 to 2002, according to Giuffre. Giuffre also claimed that Epstein trafficked her powerful friends, including Prince Andrew and French models agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
Epstein, a Rico Financial, died for suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while waiting for a trial for federal sexual trafficking positions.
Maxwell, a former British socialite, was declared guilty of five sexual trafficking positions in 2021 for his role in recruiting girls to be abused by Epstein.
Giuffre filed a federal lawsuit against Andrew in 2021, claiming that he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old. Andrew, who stepped back from his duties as a real active real as controversy related to Epstein turned around, agreed to solve the case for an indiscriminate amount in 2022. He has denied having had sex with her.
Brunel, who directed several modeling agencies, was accused of sexual harassment and the violation of at least one minor in December 2020. He denied irregularities and died for suicide in his jail cell in February 2022.
Several months before, Giuffre testified against Brunel in a Paris court in June 2021. In an interview after his closed door testimony of a day, Giuffre said he looked in the court that it was a voice for the victims and that he made sure Brunel was taken before justice.
“I wanted Brunel to know that he no longer has the power over me,” said Giuffre, “that I am now an adult woman and I have decided to hold him for what did me so many others.”
Giuffre moved to Australia with her husband before Epstein’s arrest in 2019. The couple has three children.
His brother, Danny Wilson, told NBC News that he “pressed so much to turn off the evil” of the world.
“His greatest impulse was: ‘If I don’t do this, nobody will,” he said, regarding his defense. “I was in a real physical pain, he suffered from renal insufficiency. But I think the mental pain was worse.”
Epstein’s history received renewed attention during the most recent presidential elections, and in February, the Attorney General Pam Bondi launched a collection of files related to Epstein to the figures of the right -wing media and then to the public.
Although the launch was widely written by containing information that was almost completely public, the period prior to its launch, including concerns about the dissemination of sensitive information or personal identification about the victims, had been a source of anguish and anxiety for the victims in recent months, multiple victims said to NBC News.
Giuffre’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, described her as a “dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims.”
Those who were close to Giuffre said they remembered her as a fighter.
“Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings that I have had the honor of knowing,” said his representative, Dini von Mueffling.
And McCawley said: “His courage pushed me to fight harder, and his strength was impressive.”
In an interview for a NBC special “Datelline” in Epstein that was issued before the authorities accused Maxwell and Brunel, Giuffre urged the police to act.
“Tómanos seriously,” he said. “We kill.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to achieve suicide and life line crisis. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Life of Suicide Prevention, to 800-273-8255Send a text message to 741741 or visit Speakingofsuicide.com/resources For additional resources.
