Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre's Dad Casts Doubts on Suicide
Content warning: This story discusses suicide and sexual abuse.
Some people who knew Virginia Giuffre are casting doubts over her cause of death.
Three days after members of Giuffre's family shared the 41-year-old—who accused Jeffrey Epstein of trafficking her to Prince Andrew for sex when she was a teenager—died by suicide at her home in Australia, her dad Sky Roberts called for an investigation from authorities.
Roberts cited past social media posts from Giuffre saying she had no suicidal ideations, telling TMZ in an article published April 28 that police should look further into the matter.
Likewise, Giuffre's lawyer said she has "big question marks" about the Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) founder's death.
“When I got the phone call, I was like, ‘Are you joking?’" Karrie Louden told The Sun in an interview published April 28. "Because there was no sign that that was something she was considering."
Louden argued that while Giuffre was "in a lot of pain" in the recent stages of her life, she had been "looking forward to things in the future."
The attorney added, "There’s suicide and then there’s misadventure."
Giuffre died in Neergabby, a farming area in Western Australia, according to a family statement obtained by NBC News April 25.
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking," the statement read. "Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors."
The statement continued, "In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight."
Giuffre's death came weeks after she said that she had suffered a devastating car crash, with doctors saying she had only days left to live.
"I've gone into kidney renal failure," Giuffre, who shared three kids with estranged husband Robert Giuffre, wrote on Instagram March 30. "I'm ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes. S--T in one hand and wish in the other & I guarantee it’s still going to be s--t at the end of the day."
However, Giuffre was ultimately released from the hospital, her rep confirmed to People April 7.
As for the men she accused, Epstein died by apparent suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Andrew—who denied any wrongdoing—reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 after she filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him.
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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