Western Australian police will review how they handled a domestic violence dispute involving Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent victims of the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, before her suicide a year ago, Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed Wednesday.
Blanch, speaking during a parliamentary hearing, said the force had received a letter from Giuffre’s family requesting the review. He said he did not yet know how police responded to Giuffre’s case, noting that officers “respond to over 100,000 family violence incidents every year,” but had ordered the review to determine what happened.
“The coroner can also choose to do an investigation, as could the ombudsman,” Blanch said.
Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, who live in the United States, told ABC radio Wednesday that they had written to both the state coroner and the police seeking a review of police actions before her death at age 41. Giuffre, an American who had lived in Australia for years, was involved in a dispute with a former partner in the period before she took her life on her WA farm.
The Roberts said they were not questioning the circumstances surrounding her death or disputing that she died by suicide, but wanted to know about any “internal failures” before her death.
“We’re really asking for a thorough review of the process [about] what happened when Virginia went to the police station on multiple occasions,” Amanda Roberts said. “Where [are] those reports, and why did the police not continue to follow up?”
She added: “There’s a lot of things that happened before Virginia ultimately made that decision.”
Amanda Roberts said the coroner’s court had responded with condolences to their request for an investigation but had not yet committed to a formal review.
A number of researchers and practitioners from Australian universities and family violence organizations have supported the family’s plea and also wrote to the coroner asking for an inquest, arguing the case raises broader issues around domestic and family violence.
Sky Roberts said he appreciated their recognition that “this is entirely way too common” and that such an investigation could help “thousands.”
“That’s what Virginia would want … a thorough investigation into the [systemic] failures in Australia, here in the United States, across the UK,” he said.
“I wholeheartedly believe that if the police had done a thorough investigation, that Virginia would still be here.”
Giuffre was one of the most vocal victims of Epstein. She alleged she had been groomed and sexually abused by him and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, beginning in her teens. She also alleged she had been sexually trafficked to Prince Andrew.
In a 2009 civil lawsuit against Epstein filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe 102, she alleged that her duties included being “sexually exploited by Epstein’s adult male peers including royalty.” Giuffre reached a settlement with Epstein before that case went to trial.
In 2021, Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York, alleging he had sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew has repeatedly and strongly denied the accusations. In 2022, Andrew and Giuffre agreed to an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum.
Maxwell, who has maintained her innocence, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking.
An interim administrator was appointed to oversee Giuffre’s estate after she died without a valid will, triggering competing claims by her sons, Christian, 19, and Noah, 18.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.