Detained socialite Ghislaine Maxwell believes that her former lover and convicted sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in his Manhattan prison cell last year and that she may meet the same fate.
Maxwell, 58, cried as she was denied bail on Tuesday and learned she must stay locked up until her trial next summer, after she pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges brought against her.
Epstein, 66, was found hanged in his New York City prison cell in August 2019 after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges, and his death was ruled a suicide.
But Maxwell reportedly believes he was murdered.
According to The Sun, her friends say that she now fears for her life amid concerns she may be killed behind bars after receiving death threats before her arrest two weeks ago.
Friends say Ghislaine Maxwell believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in his prison cell
Maxwell, picture with Epstein, now fears she will meet the same grisly end
Epstein was found hanged in his cell, pictured, in August 2019. It was ruled a suicide
It was revealed Wednesday that Maxwell's brother had recruited ex-British soldiers to protect the socialite as she attempted to hide in her New Hampshire property amid fears of attempts on her life.
But she fears she can't be guaranteed the same protection as she now faces a year-long wait for her trial behind bars inside Brooklyn’s maximum security Metropolitan Detention Center.
'Everyone’s view including Ghislaine’s is Epstein was murdered. She received death threats before she was arrested,' a friend told The Sun.
When died, Epstein had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. In lawsuits, women say the abuse spanned decades.
His death was ruled a suicide, but he had been taken off suicide watch weeks before despite being injured from either an attack or another suicide attempt.
The manner of Epstein's death has sparked conspiracy theories that he did not die by suicide and was, in fact, murdered - a theory that friends say Maxwell also believes.
Maxwell is being held in Metropolitan Detention Center as she awaits her trial
Maxwell is being held in isolation in the prison. Pictured, Metropolitan Detention Center
Maxwell, 58, cried as she was denied bail on Tuesday and learned she must stay locked up until her trial next summer, as Jeffrey Epstein's accused madam pleaded not guilty to the sex trafficking charges brought against her. Friends say she fears she will die in prison
Maxwell, a long-time associate of pedophile Epstein, is under investigation over her alleged role in grooming girls for the disgraced financier to abuse.
She pleaded not guilty Tuesday to helping him recruit and eventually abuse girls as young as 14, as well as lying about her role in depositions in 2016.
Maxwell is accused of grooming girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 1997, a period when she was his girlfriend.
She faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty of the charges, as prosecutors successfully argued that along with her three passports, connections to some of the world's most powerful people and her own fortune of more than $10 million - Maxwell had every incentive to try and flee.
Maxwell now remains in the fortress-like Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where she has been given paper clothes to ensure she doesn't kill herself.
She is also being kept in solitary confinement with the lights of her cell on constantly.
The prison she is being held in was once described by a former governor as 'the most troubled federal facility in the prison system'.
During her bail hearing Tuesday, however, prosecutors said that the prison had made substantial efforts to accommodate Maxwell and keep her safe.
Attorney General Bill Bar has also insisted that the government will not allow her to die in jail like Epstein.
Asked an interview with ABC News if the government had Maxwell's security 'locked up' to ensure she would neither be able to kill herself or be harmed, Barr answered firmly: 'Yes. We have asked them to tell us specifically the protocols they're following and we have a number of redundant systems to monitor the situation.'
He added that he was 'livid' when Epstein killed himself and that he wanted to see him brought to justice.
The case against Maxwell is said to be 'strong' and multiple victims have provided 'detailed, credible evidence of the defendant's criminal conduct' - with more women coming forward in the past week.
Pictured, the cell in the Manhattan prison where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead
The victims have made clear they want Maxwell remanded in custody and say they were 'directly abused as a result of Ghislaine Maxwell's actions'.
Epstein's victims have long demanded Maxwell's arrest and lawyers for them say that a slew of new accusers have come forward since she was apprehended.
Prosecutors will likely be looking to do a plea deal with Maxwell to lighten some of the six charges against her, two of which are perjury for allegedly lying during depositions.
They will be questioning her about powerful men in Epstein's orbit including Bill Clinton with whom she flew on Epstein's private jet, called the 'Lolita Express', on a tour of Africa in 2002.
Maxwell was also good friends with Prince Andrew and one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts, claims she was loaned out to the Duke three times for sex when she was 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment