Virginia Giuffre’s family has shared details about her life in the period before her tragic death at the age of 41.
Giuffre passed away on Thursday, April 24, in what her family described as a suicide.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” they expressed in a statement.
“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.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Giuffre had been involved in a notable civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew, accusing him of sexual assault.
Giuffre alleged that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to the disgraced prince. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019, while Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in New York.
Despite the prince’s denial of the accusations, he settled the lawsuit, providing Giuffre with an undisclosed payment.
In the weeks before her death, Giuffre reportedly faced significant challenges, including a claim that she had ‘days to live’ following a car accident.
Additionally, she was experiencing marital problems with her estranged husband.
The couple separated in 2023.
Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, mentioned that her husband had filed a restraining order in February, prohibiting her from seeing her children.
He stated: “It’s the worst pain in the world to not have access to your children.
“Can you imagine the pain? I will tell you, all the physical (pain) will never amount to the pain of being separated from your children in that way.”
Roberts emphasized that her children were ‘the most important thing in her life’.
There are also claims that Giuffre’s husband may have been abusive, with her brother suggesting that her injuries might not have been from the car accident but from another cause.
“Nobody ever said her liver issues and kidney failure were ever from that. We still don’t know if it is, I’m not a medical professional. That’s up to her doctor to determine,” he told PEOPLE at the time.
Regarding her injuries, Roberts noted: “I think that’s from years of alleged abuse. You got to think, she’s been allegedly being abused for over 10 years. Anyone’s body is going to take a toll over a course of time.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.