Virginia Giuffre's lawyer questions whether death was suicide
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The lawyer for Virginia Giuffre is questioning whether the sex abuse victim died by suicide at her Australian home last week.
Police were called to Giuffre’s remote farmhouse north of Perth on Friday and found her unresponsive.
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Her family released a statement that said the 41-year-old mother of three died by suicide.
However, lawyer Karrie Louden said there are “big question marks” about the manner of her death.
“There’s suicide and then there’s misadventure,” she told Britain’s the Sun.
Louden said she was one of the first people to arrive at Giuffre’s home when news broke of her passing.
“I didn’t see her in the room,” she said. “I wasn’t in there. The family said what the family has said but I’m not going to speculate whether it was suicide or accidental.”
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Louden pointed out that Giuffre was hospitalized with renal failure following a crash between her vehicle and a bus in late March.
Giuffre shared a photo of herself to social media that showed her resting in hospital with bruises on her face.
However, police described the incident as a “minor” crash and didn’t have any reports of serious injuries.
“Has she just taken too many painkillers? Was she intentionally doing it? I just, you know …,” Louden said. “I don’t even know what the cause of death was.”
Giuffre alleged she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew on three occasions and trafficked by child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein beginning when she was 16.
Despite Prince Andrew’s denials, the British royal paid her a $22 million settlement but acknowledged that she suffered as a victim of abuse. He was also stripped of his royal duties by the late Queen Elizabeth and is no longer allowed to use “his royal highness.”
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Louden, who began representing Giuffre in January, said there were no signs that she wanted to take her life.
“She was in a lot of pain but she was looking forward to things in the future,” she said.
“She wanted to renovate this house and all sorts of things like that. There were plans that she had for the future.”
The lawyer said she was at the home about a week ago to sort out some legal affairs.
“This has been a complete shock to all of us,” Louden said. “If any of us had thought she’s going to commit suicide, of course we would have taken more steps, put her into a clinic or got her some more help.”
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