Australia police to review officers in charge of the case of Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER and AARON BUNCH FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 06:52, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 06:52, 24 June 2026 The interactions between Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre and Australian police before her death will be reviewed. Ms Giuffre, 41, who died by suicide in 2025 at her farm in Western Australia, alleged that she was forced to have sex on multiple occasions with former Duke of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after Epstein trafficked her.  In May, her brothers called for a public inquest into her death and a formal review of police actions they believe failed to protect her. They said Ms Giuffre may have been a victim of domestic violence in the lead-up to her death. On Wednesday, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed the way officers handled her case would be reviewed, ABC News reports. 'We respond to over 100,000 family violence incidents every year,' he told a WA 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.' Commissioner Blanch said the state's coroner and ombudsman could launch separate investigations. The interactions between Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre (pictured) and Australian police before her death will be reviewed  Virginia Giuffre alleged she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew after being introduced by Epstein's associate, jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was just 17 In June, 16 researchers and practitioners from leading Australian universities and domestic violence organisations wrote to WA Coroner Ros Fogliani. '[Ms] 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. '[Ms] 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.' Ms Giuffre's death raises broader questions about family violence, coercive control and potential systemic failures, the letter said. One of the signatories, Chief Executive Officer at the Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing Alison Evans, said some victim-survivors can feel ignored. '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,' she said. 'A victim-survivor's distress and suicidal thoughts and behaviours should not be treated as individual disorders.' Ms Giuffre settled a sexual assault lawsuit against the former prince, who has always denied the allegations. She also figured prominently in the downfall of Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. His former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in late 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges. National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.