Virginia Giuffre, survivor of Jeffrey Epstein abuse and Prince Andrew accuser, laid to rest in secret funeral after suicide
25 May 2025, 13:00
Virginia Giuffre, who claimed to be trafficked by billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sex with Prince Andrew, has been cremated in a private funeral.
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Ms Giuffre, 41, died by suicide, and was found at her farm in Neergabby, Western Australia, where she had been living for the past few years.
She was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
She has now been cremated in a private funeral held in at Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park in Padbury, a suburb of Perth.
American-born Giuffre has lived in Australia for years and has become an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in the prolonged downfall of disgraced paedophile financier Epstein.
Ms Giuffre’s family announced her death at the end of April. In a statement, they said: "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."
The family statement continued: "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."
Ms Giuffre sued Prince Andrew for sexual abuse in August 2021.
She claimed the Duke of York had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend - billionaire paedophile and disgraced businessman Epstein.
Prince Andrew has denied the claims and has not been charged with criminal offences.
Ms Giuffre and Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement in March 2022.
Ms Giuffre came forward publicly after the initial investigation ended in an 18-month Florida jail term for Epstein, who made a secret deal and was released in 2009.
In subsequent civil lawsuits, Mr Giuffre said she was a spa attendant as a teen at Mar-a-Lago — Mr Trump’s Palm Beach club — when she was approached in 2000 by Maxwell.
She was hired as a masseuse for Epstein and was flown around the world for meetings with men at Epstein’s behest while she was 17 and 18.
The duke paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre, whom he said he had never met.
She alleged they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, and that the Duke of York then sexually assaulted her - a claim Andrew has denied.
She is survived by her three children, whom the statement described as the “light of her life.”