Article By Frank Bergman
Authorities in Western Australia have launched an official investigation into the death of Jeffrey Epstein victim and ex-Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
The probe will review police interactions with Giuffre before her death.
The investigation follows calls from her family and domestic violence experts for closer scrutiny of whether officials failed to protect her.
Giuffre, 41, died by suicide in 2025 at her farm in Western Australia.
She was one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers and alleged that she was forced to have sex on three occasions with the disgraced former British prince now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Andrew has always denied the allegations, despite settling a multi-million-dollar lawsuit from Giuffre.
In May, Giuffre’s brothers called for a public inquest into her death and a formal review of police actions.
They said Giuffre, a Sacramento, California native, may have been a victim of domestic violence in the period leading up to her death.
Western Australia Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed Wednesday that the handling of Giuffre’s case will be reviewed, according to ABC News.
“We respond to over 100,000 family violence incidents every year,” Blanch told a Western Australia parliament hearing.
“I’d love to give assurance on every single one, but I can’t – but that one will be subject to a review,” he added.
Police Review Could Be Followed by Further Investigations
Blanch said Western Australia’s coroner and ombudsman could also launch separate investigations into the circumstances surrounding Giuffre’s death.
The confirmation follows mounting pressure from researchers, domestic violence organizations, and Giuffre’s family for authorities to examine whether warning signs were missed.
In June, 16 researchers and practitioners from leading Australian universities and domestic violence organizations wrote to Western Australia Coroner Ros Fogliani, urging a deeper review.
“Giuffre spent much of her adult life in courageous pursuit of accountability for the abuse she suffered, taking significant personal risk to expose a network of exploitation and in doing so helping to protect other women,” the letter said.
“It would be a profound injustice if the question of whether systems failed her in her final months were not examined with equivalent rigour.
“Giuffre’s death is unusual only in that it is visible.
“Her public profile means there is an unusually detailed record of her final months – and what that record shows is deeply consistent with what our research tells us about how these deaths occur, and how they are too often overlooked.”
The letter said Giuffre’s death raises broader questions about family violence, coercive control, and possible systemic failures.
Domestic Violence Experts Warn Victims Can Be Dismissed
Alison Evans, chief executive officer at the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing, was among those who signed the letter.
Evans said victim-survivors of intimate partner violence often describe being ignored, blamed, or pushed into mental health pathways rather than having the violence against them recognized.
“Women with experiences of intimate partner violence often describe feeling dismissed, blamed for the abuse, or redirected into mental health pathways during contact rather than having the violence recognised by health, policing and legal services,” Evans said.
“A victim-survivor’s distress and suicidal thoughts and behaviours should not be treated as individual disorders,” she added.
The review now places new scrutiny on how police responded to Giuffre before her death and whether the system treated her as a person in need of protection or failed to fully recognize the risks she may have faced.
Central Figure in Epstein Scandal
Giuffre settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew, who has always denied her allegations.
She also played a major role in exposing Epstein’s abuse network.
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
His death was ruled a suicide.
Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in late 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges.
For years, Giuffre’s testimony helped force public attention onto Epstein’s powerful circle and the institutions that failed to stop his abuse.
Now, after her death, her family and advocates are demanding answers about whether authorities failed her in her final months.
The review will determine whether Giuffre’s interactions with police were handled properly or whether another institution missed a chance to protect a woman who had already spent much of her life fighting to expose abuse.
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