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This is a developing story. NewsNation will update this information as more details become available.
(NewsNation) — Virginia Giuffre, one of the earliest and most prominent survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, has died by suicide, according to published reports.
Citing Giuffre’s family, NBC News reported the 41-year-old Giuffre died in Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said in a statement to NBC News. “She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
In March, Giuffre claimed that she just had four days to live after saying in a social media post that she had been struck by a bus, NewsNation previously reported.
In a post on Instagram, Giuffre said she had suffered renal failure after being struck.
In 2021, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew after she alleged he sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
Giuffre said Epstein introduced her to the prince in London in 2001, and a photo circulated of them with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
In her lawsuit, she claimed Maxwell forced her to have sex with Andrew. Andrew has denied meeting Giuffre and said it “didn’t happen.” They reached a settlement “in principle” in early 2022. Maxwell is serving a sentence after her conviction on sex trafficking charges.
The NBC News report stated that Giuffre grew up in Florida but had a troubled childhood that reportedly included being abused by a family friend. In the family statement issued after her death, Giuffre’s loved ones said that the abuse she suffered took its toll.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” the statement issued to NBC said. “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.”