Joe JACKSON
Mon, January 23, 2023
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed the disgraced late US financier Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison, in an interview with a British broadcaster that aired on Monday.
The Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell is imprisoned in a Florida penitentiary after her conviction and 20-year sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls.
Epstein, who was facing charges of trafficking underage girls for sex, escaped trial by killing himself in a New York jail in August 2019.
The autopsy concluded suicide by hanging, although the 66-year-old's sudden death fuelled widespread controversy and conspiracy theories.
"I believe that he was murdered," former socialite Maxwell said in the series of jailhouse interviews aired on Britain's TalkTV. "I was shocked. Then I wondered how it had happened."
A forensic pathologist hired by Epstein's brother said in 2019 that evidence suggested he had been murdered, arguing multiple fractures found in his neck were "very unusual for suicide".
The US Department of Justice has conducted a years-long investigation into how Epstein was able to hang himself inside New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center, but has not released any evidence of foul play.
Two prison guards on duty who admitted to falsifying records related to the night he died were charged later in 2019 over their alleged failure to monitor him.
But federal prosecutors dismissed the charges in late 2021 after the pair completed community service work as part of an earlier legal agreement.
- 'Closure' -
Maxwell, who is appealing her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking minors, also insisted she now regrets ever meeting Epstein.
She said she did not know "he was so awful" when they first met and began a relationship in the late 1990s.
US prosecutors successfully proved during Maxwell's high-profile trial in New York that she was "the key" to his scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.
She expressed sympathy for the victims during a court statement, saying she was "sorry for the pain that you experienced" but blamed Epstein.
Maxwell opted against apologising to the victims during her TalkTV interviews when given the opportunity.
"Epstein has died and they should take their disappointment and upset out on the authorities that allowed that to happen," she replied.
"I hope that they have some closure via the judicial process that took place.
"And I wish them... to be able to have a productive and good life going forward."
- 'Fake' photograph -
In interview excerpts released Sunday, Maxwell also claimed that a decades-old photograph of Prince Andrew with his sexual abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is "fake".
Giuffre has said she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to, among others, Andrew, King Charles III's younger brother.
The 39-year-old sued the discredited royal in a US court, claiming they had sex in London when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
He settled the sexual assault lawsuit at considerable cost last year, sparing him the public humiliation of a trial.
The prince, 62, has not been criminally charged and has continued to deny the accusations.
The photograph of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre's waist and Maxwell standing next to them -- said to have been taken in London in 2001 -- is seen as crucial to the claim against the prince.
Matthew Wright criticises Jeremy Kyle for his interview with Ghislaine Maxwell
‘Don’t give her a platform’
Sam Moore
Tue, January 24, 2023
Matthew Wright has hit out at Jeremy Kyle for interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell. (PA)
Matthew Wright has criticised Jeremy Kyle for interviewing convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell on his TalkTV show.
In her first interview from prison, Maxwell discussed her relationships with Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle invites people to insult him online as he joins social media
Appearing on This Morning, Wright said: "You don’t give a platform to convicted sex traffickers or abusers, that is a disgraceful piece of journalism."
He added: "One of the things that we know about people that have been convicted of crimes is that normally what they say can’t be trusted, and yet you’re giving an uncritical platform to a sex abuser. I am sickened and disgusted."
Matthew Wright criticised Jeremy Kyle for giving Ghislaine Maxwell a platform. (TalkTV)
Wright continued to criticise Kyle for giving Maxwell a platform after she was convicted: "It’s like super rich people who have attempted to evade justice for as long as she did, are a special case and they’re allowed to pipe out their ridiculous excuses."
Kyle did discuss his interview with Maxwell before it aired, particularly how she never apologises to any of her victims: "There is no part of any of this where she apologises to her victims. For me, they are the first and most important thing we should think about, the people who were trafficked, the young girls who were taken advantage of."
Ghislaine Maxwell on Jeremy Kyle: Ghislaine Behind Bars. (TalkTV)
During the interview, Maxwell discussed how she didn't like prison food, talked about meeting former President Bill Clinton and her regrets about meeting Epstein.
Last year, the former socialite was found guilty of enticing minors and sex trafficking underrage girls for Epstein. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is awaiting trial for further offences relating to lying under oath about Epstein's abuse of children.
Maxwell is also known to have a long-lasting friendship with Prince Andrew and introduced the royal to the deceased billionaire.
‘Don’t give her a platform’
Sam Moore
Tue, January 24, 2023
Matthew Wright has hit out at Jeremy Kyle for interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell. (PA)
Matthew Wright has criticised Jeremy Kyle for interviewing convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell on his TalkTV show.
In her first interview from prison, Maxwell discussed her relationships with Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein.
Read more: Jeremy Kyle invites people to insult him online as he joins social media
Appearing on This Morning, Wright said: "You don’t give a platform to convicted sex traffickers or abusers, that is a disgraceful piece of journalism."
He added: "One of the things that we know about people that have been convicted of crimes is that normally what they say can’t be trusted, and yet you’re giving an uncritical platform to a sex abuser. I am sickened and disgusted."
Matthew Wright criticised Jeremy Kyle for giving Ghislaine Maxwell a platform. (TalkTV)
Wright continued to criticise Kyle for giving Maxwell a platform after she was convicted: "It’s like super rich people who have attempted to evade justice for as long as she did, are a special case and they’re allowed to pipe out their ridiculous excuses."
Kyle did discuss his interview with Maxwell before it aired, particularly how she never apologises to any of her victims: "There is no part of any of this where she apologises to her victims. For me, they are the first and most important thing we should think about, the people who were trafficked, the young girls who were taken advantage of."
Ghislaine Maxwell on Jeremy Kyle: Ghislaine Behind Bars. (TalkTV)
During the interview, Maxwell discussed how she didn't like prison food, talked about meeting former President Bill Clinton and her regrets about meeting Epstein.
Last year, the former socialite was found guilty of enticing minors and sex trafficking underrage girls for Epstein. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is awaiting trial for further offences relating to lying under oath about Epstein's abuse of children.
Maxwell is also known to have a long-lasting friendship with Prince Andrew and introduced the royal to the deceased billionaire.
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