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Friday's Final Word
Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein as a teen, has died by suicide after making a series of troubling Instagram posts.
Her family said in a statement: ‘It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia.
‘She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
‘Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. 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.
‘The light of her life were her children Christian, Noah, and Emily. It was when she held her newborn daughter in her arms that Virginia realized she had to fight back against those who had abused her and so many others.
‘There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia.
‘She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit.
‘In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.’
The 41-year-old grew to prominence after she was trafficked by the late financier and called for charges to be brought against him.
Virginia Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen, when she says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein
Giuffre claimed she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew at the behest of Epstein’s associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was just 17. She is seen here alongside the two
This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. He died in a New York prison in 2019
Giuffre claimed she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew at the behest of Epstein’s associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was just 17.
The Duke of York denied the allegation, as has Maxwell – who is a convicted sex offender – while Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019.
She filed a federal lawsuit against Andrew in 2021 which he agreed to settle for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He has denied ever having sex with her.
She had alleged she had sex with Andrew three times, in London during a 2001 trip, at Epstein’s New York mansion when she was 17 and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18.
Andrew repeatedly denied her allegations and has said he can´t recall ever meeting her, although a photograph of them together in a London townhouse, his arm around her bare midriff, was included in Giuffre’s lawsuit against him.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in a Florida federal prison following her conviction for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
Originally born in Florida, Giuffre had moved to Australia with her husband Robert in 2019 prior to Epstein being arrested. The couple have three children.
Most recently, she had been sharing images of herself to Instagram from a hospital bed after being in a car crash, stating doctors told her she had just days to live.
She said her car had been hit by a school bus travelling at over 60mph and the accident had left her with kidney failure.
The photograph showed discoloration to Giuffre’s face and chest which has been described as severe bruising.
Giuffre is seen here arriving at Federal Court in New York in August 2019 for a hearing into the case against Epstein
Originally born in Florida, Giuffre had moved to Australia with her husband Robert in 2019 prior to Epstein being arrested, she is seen here alongside her brother earlier this month
Three days after the picture emerged, a spokesman for Giuffre said she had ‘made a mistake’ and had not intended to share the post publicly.
She then returned to social media with a series of cryptic posts that sparked new intrigue due to their confusing contents.
Giuffre initially shared a YouTube link to the chart-topping break up song by Australian artist Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know.
That post was quickly followed by a second story which had no title, photo or sound.
The second post, just a black screen, was then made into a ‘highlight,’ on her feed accompanied by the broken heart emoji as its title. There was no further clue to the meaning or context for the posts.
Daily Mail Australia subsequently spoke to the bus driver and multiple eye witnesses to the crash who confirmed it was a ‘minor bump.’
It was also revealed that Giuffre had been listed to face court ten days before the crash over the alleged breach of the family violence restraining order.
The following day she was spotted by a Daily Mail Australia photographer where she flipped her middle finger as her brother Danny Wilson drove off in the $150,000 Chevrolet Silverado they were traveling in.
Epstein is seen here alongside Ghislaine Maxwell
Her father Sky Roberts said that Giuffre was going through a ‘messy’ divorce and no longer lives with Robert, at their $1.9million beachside mansion in Perth.
Two days before the car crash, on March 22, Giuffre posted a sun-dappled picture of her children on a beach, accompanied by an apparent desperate plea to see them.
‘My beautiful babies have no clue how much I love them and they’re being poisoned with lies,’ she posted.
‘I miss them so very much. I have been through hell and back in my 41 years but this is incredibly hurting me worse than anything else.
‘Hurt me, abuse me but don’t take my babies. My heart is shattered and every day that passes my sadness only deepens.’
In the post from her hospital bed a week later, Giuffre said: ‘I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.’
‘I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time. My heart is shattered and every day that passes my sadness only deepens.’
Her former lawyer Sigrid McCawley, who represented her during her lawsuit against Prince Andrew said: ‘Virginia was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims.
‘Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel.’
Her representative Dini von Mueffling added: ‘Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honor to know.
‘ Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims. She adored her children and many animals.
‘She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.’
