Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has died by suicide aged 41, her family has said.Ms Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. She alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has strenuously denied.Relatives said in a statement on Friday that she had been a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse”, and that the “toll of abuse… became unbearable”.”She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” they said.The statement described the mother of three “as the light that lifted so many survivors” and said she died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. West Australia police said they were called to a home in the Neergabby area on Friday night, where Ms Giuffre was found unresponsive. A statement continued: “The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”Ms Giuffre – who was born in the US – had been living with her children and husband Robert in the suburb of North Perth, although recent reports suggested the couple had split after 22 years of marriage.Three weeks ago, Ms Giuffre posted on Instagram to say she had been seriously injured in a car accident, which her family later said she had not intended to make public. Local police later disputed the severity of the crash.In a statement, Ms Giuffre’s long-time spokesperson Dini von Mueffling described her as “one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.She said Ms Giuffre was a “beacon to other survivors and victims” and that “it was the privilege of a lifetime to re …
