Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has died by suicide aged 41, her family has confirmed.
Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. She alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has strenuously denied.
Relatives said in a statement on Friday that she had been a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse”, and that the “toll of abuse… became unbearable”.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” a statement from her family said.
It described her “as the light that lifted so many survivors”.
The statement said the mother of three died on Thursday at her farm in Western Australia.
West Australia police said they were called to a home in the Neergabby area on Friday night, where Ms Giuffre was found unresponsive.
A statement continued: “The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Ms Giuffre – who was born in the US – had been living with her children and husband Robert in the suburb of North Perth, though recent reports suggested the couple had split after 22 years of marriage.
Three weeks ago, Ms Giuffre posted on Instagram to say she had been seriously injured in a car accident, which her family later said she had not intended to make public. Local police later disputed the severity of the crash.
After making her abuse allegations public, Giuffre became a prominent campaigner and was closely associated with the Me Too movement.
Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17.
Prince Andrew, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022.
The settlement included a statement in which he expressed regret for his association with Epstein but contained no admission of liability or apology.
Giuffre said she became a victim of sex trafficking when she was a teenager.
She said she met Maxwell, a British socialite, in the year 2000.
From there, she said she was introduced to American financier Epstein and alleged years of abuse by him and his associates.
Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019, where he was being held awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He was previously convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Maxwell was sentence to 20 years in prison in the US for her role in Epstein’s trafficking and abuse.
By BBC News
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