Virginia Giuffre, a prominent survivor of financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, who alleged Britain’s Prince Andrew abused her when she was a teenager, has died by suicide, her family said. She was 41.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” read a statement from the family. Police confirmed that emergency services found a woman unresponsive in her home near Perth, Western Australia, on Friday night, April 25, 2025. She was pronounced dead at the scene after first aid was unsuccessful. Her death is not being treated as suspicious, police said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” her family said in the statement. “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.”
Giuffre, a mother of three, was one of the most vocal accusers of the wealthy and well-connected sex offender Epstein. In 2019, she publicly alleged Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with his friends, including Prince Andrew, when she was 17 years old. She also claimed the prince was aware she was underage in the US at the time. Prince Andrew repeatedly denied the claims.
In July 2019, Epstein was indicted on one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, to which he pleaded not guilty. One month later, he died by suicide in prison. He was accused of running a child trafficking ring to provide him with girls as young as 14 for sex and nude massages at his homes in New York City and Florida between 2002 and 2005.
A 2009 settlement agreement, unsealed in 2022, showed that Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 to drop a case without any admission of liability or fault. Prior to that, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, one involving a 14-year-old girl, and served 13 months in prison under a controversial plea deal. His ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and accused of facilitating Epstein’s abuse scheme. A jury in 2021 convicted her on five federal counts, including sex trafficking a minor and conspiracy. She was sentenced to 20 years in jail a year later.
Giuffre was not one of the four women who testified in the trial that they had been abused. However, she became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall. Her publicist, Dini von Mueffling, described her as “deeply loving, wise and funny, a beacon to other survivors and victims.”
Giuffre's activism was not just about her own experience; she provided critical information to law enforcement that contributed to the investigation into and later the conviction of Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Raised primarily in Florida, Giuffre had a troubled childhood, claiming she was abused by a family friend, which triggered a downward spiral that led to her living on the streets as a teenager.
She was attempting to rebuild her life when she met Maxwell, who groomed her to be sexually abused by Epstein. According to Giuffre, the abuse continued from 1999 to 2002, and she was trafficked to powerful friends of Epstein, including Prince Andrew and French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
In one of her lawsuits, Giuffre stated that she had sex with Prince Andrew three times: in London during her 2001 trip, at Epstein’s New York mansion when she was 17, and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18. The men she accused denied it and questioned Giuffre's credibility. Although she acknowledged changing some key details of her account, many parts of her story were supported by documents, witness testimony, and photos.
Giuffre's long battle for justice was marked by her attempts to hold Epstein accountable, but his death in 2019 ended her hopes for criminal justice against him. In response to her experiences, she founded an advocacy charity, SOAR, in 2015, aimed at helping other survivors.
Her brother, Danny Wilson, told NBC News that she “pushed so hard to snuff the evil out” of the world, reflecting her commitment to advocacy. “Her biggest push was, 'If I don’t do this, nobody’s going to do it,'” he said, noting her struggles with both physical and mental pain.
Giuffre's death has reignited discussions about the impact of sexual abuse and the ongoing fight against sex trafficking. Her lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, expressed her sorrow, stating, “Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
Giuffre's legacy as a champion for victims of sexual abuse will likely continue to inspire others to speak out and seek justice. The Epstein saga remains a stark reminder of the systemic issues surrounding sexual exploitation and the need for continued advocacy and support for survivors.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, help is available. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Globally, the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.
