Virginia Giuffre has died at the age of 41 (Picture: PA)
Virginia Giuffre’s devastated family have paid tribute to the ‘fierce warrior against sexual abuse and sex trafficking’ after her death at 41.
They said the ‘toll of abuse… became unbearable’ for the mum-of-three,who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew.
In a statement they wrote: ‘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 statement described her three children as the ‘light of her life’.
The family added: ‘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.’
Virginia Roberts Giuffre,with a photo of herself as a teen,when she says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein (Picture: TNS)
Police confirmed emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in the Perth suburb of Neergabby on Friday night.
‘Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly,the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,’ a police spokeswoman said.
‘The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.’
Ms Giuffre was born Virginia Louise Roberts in Sacramento,California on August 9,to parents Sky and Lynn Roberts.
The family relocated to Loxahatchee in Palm Beach County,Florida when she was four,where her father was a maintenance manager at Mar-a-Lago.
She said she was sexually abused as a child and spent some time as a runaway.
As a teenager,Ms Giuffre got a job at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as a locker room attendant.
Ms Giuffre as a young woman (Picture: AFP or licensors)
She said she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell,Epstein’s associate and a British socialite,while working there.
‘They seemed like nice people so I trusted them,and I told them I’d had a really hard time in my life up until then — I’d been a runaway,I’d been sexually abused,physically abused,’ she said in a 2019 interview with The Miami Herald.
Little has been written about her siblings,but her brother Danny Wilson posted a picture of himself with his sister on Facebook today.
Ms Giuffre is seen smiling at the camera with her arm around her brother.
Ms Giuffre’s brother Danny Miller,right,pictured with his sister. The other man is thought to be her older brother Sky
A third man is also in the picture,and is thought to be her older brother Sky.
Ms Giuffre married Australian Robert Giuffre in 2002,not long after the pair met in Thailand.
Virginia was attending a massage training school at the time,while still working for Epstein.
She said she cut all ties with the financier after she and Mr Giuffre got together.
The pair,who reportedly became estranged at the beginning of this year,lived in both the US and Australia together,with the latter being their base in recent years.
Ms Giuffre had three children with her husband: two sons,Christian and a daughter,Emily – all said to be teenagers.
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York in 2021,accusing the estranged royal of sexually assaulting her on three occasions when she was 17.
The Duke of York with a young Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell (right) (Picture: PA).
Andrew has repeatedly denied the claims,but in 2022 agreed to pay her an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement.
The settlement included a ‘substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights’.
At the time,Andrew released a statement praising the ‘bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others’.
He also vowed to ‘demonstrate his regret for his association’ with Epstein by supporting the ‘fight against the evils of sex trafficking,and by supporting its victims’.
Ms Giuffre was living on her farm,in Neergabby,about an hour’s drive north of Perth,in Western Australia before she died.
She previously said she walked her dog,Juno,each day to unwind.
Virginia Giuffre,speaks at a news conference following a hearing where Epstein’s alleged victims made statements in Manhattan (Picture: TNS)
It was one of her many coping methods to try to recover from the abuse she had experienced in her youth,she explained.
In a statement read at Maxwell’s trial in 2022,Ms Giuffre said she is haunted by nightmares about her past. Nightmares,she added,she feared will never stop happening.
‘In those dreams,I relive the awful things you and others did to me and the things you forced me to do,’ she said,addressing Maxwell.
Beyond dog-walking,Ms Giuffre did yoga,attended regular therapy sessions and took trips into town to shop and run errands.
‘I’m doing as many things to clear my mind as possible so that I can be sharp and focused when it matters,’ she told The Cut in 2021.
Being a mother to three,her days were also filled with the usual parent responsibilities,such as taking her children to and from school,and various clubs.
Virginia Giuffre (centre) exits from federal court in New York (Picture: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She acknowledged things could be tough for her children due to the history and high profile nature of her life,once saying: ‘They have friends that say,“Oh my god,is this your mum?'”
‘It’s a lot for them to carry. But they’re teenagers. They’re at that prime era in life where I think it’s important to teach them about sex trafficking.’
Ms Giuffre also ran the charity Speak Out,Act,Reclaim,or Soar.
Soar is ‘dedicated to providing a safe and empowering space for survivors of sex trafficking to reclaim their stories and stand up for themselves and each other’,according to its website.
‘I do this for victims everywhere,’ Ms Giuffe has said about her charity work.
‘I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor,and nobody can ever take that away from me.’.
In 2023,one year after settling her lawsuit with Andrew,Ms Giuffre signed a multi-million dollar deal to write her memoir,in which she was expected to offer insight into the years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Epstein.
The book,said to be 12 years in the making,would also detail her meetings with Andrew.
It has not yet been published.
At the end of last month,Ms Giuffre posted on Instagram that she had been in a road accident and had four days to live due to ‘kidney renal failure.
Alongside a photo of her looking bruised in a hospital bed,she wrote: ‘This year has been the worst start to a new year,but I won’t bore anyone with the details but I think it important to note that when a school bus driver comes at you driving 110km as we were slowing for a turn that no matter what your car is made of it might as well be a tin can.
Ms Guiffre shared a photograph of herself from hospital (Picture: Instagram)
‘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,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.
‘Thank you all for being the wonderful people of the world and for being a great part of my life. Godbless you all xx Virginia’.
Her father,Sky Roberts,commented on the post,saying: ‘Virginia,my daughter,I love you and praying for you to get the correct treatment to live a long and healthy life.
Samaritans are here to listen,day or night,365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123,email [email protected] or visit samaritans.org for more information.
‘If there is anything in this world I can do to help you,please let me know. My spirit with you now and holding your hand.’
Western Australia police and ambulance services initially told reporters they had no records of such an accident happening in recent weeks.
Police later said they had located records of a ‘minor crash’ between a bus and a car on 24 March,but that no injuries had been reported.
A week after posting on Instagram,Ms Giuffre was discharged from hospital.
Her family said she had ‘made a mistake’ when she said she had four days to live. She also thought she was posting on her private Facebook page,they added.
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