Sex trafficking survivor Virginia Giuffre shared a string of heartbreaking social media posts before her suicide aged 41.
Virginia, who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew, was found dead at her home in Western Australia last night.
Her family said in a statement Virginia was a ‘fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse’ but that the ‘toll of abuse… became unbearable’.
Just last week, Virginia posted a link to Gotye’s breakup song Somebody That I Used To Know on to herInstagram.
She pinned the story to her profile – meaning it won’t disappear after 24 hours – with a broken heart emoji.
The statement added: ‘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 Christian, Noah and Emily as the ‘light of her life’.
They said: ‘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.’
Ms Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
She alleged they trafficked her to Prince Andrew when she was 17, a claim which he has denied.
Ms Giuffre is understood to have died at her farm in Western Australia.
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.
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‘The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.’
Ms Giuffre’s long-time publicist Dini von Mueffling said her client was ‘one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know’.
‘Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,’ Ms von Mueffling said.
‘It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.’
Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for Ms Giuffre, said in a statement: ‘Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring.
‘The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel.’
Ms Giuffre, who was believed to have separated from her husband, was treated in an Australian hospital after a serious accident, her publicist said last month.
She did not answer questions about the date, location, nature or other specifics of the accident and about the accuracy of an Instagram post that appeared from Ms Giuffre in which she said she had been in a car that was hit by a school bus, and her prognosis was dire.
She was charged with breaching a family violence restraining order in Ocean Reef, near Perth, on February 2, Western Australia Courts said.
Ms Giuffre’s case was first heard in Joondalup Magistrates’ Court in northern Perth on March 14, where she did not enter a plea.
The matter was adjourned to June 11 for a plea hearing, according to Western Australia Courts.
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.
She 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.
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In subsequent lawsuits, Mr Giuffre said she was a spa attendant as a teen at Mar-a-Lago – US President Donald 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, including the Duke of York, 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 sued him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
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