Ghislaine Maxwell has said she believes disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was murdered and wishes she had “never met him”.
The British socialite61, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States last year for luring young girls to massage parlors so Epstein could assault them between 1994 and 2004.
Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
His death was ruled a suicide, but Maxwell, who had a relationship with him, said she did not believe him.
In an interview for Talk TV’s Jeremy Kyle Live: Ghislaine Behind Bars, she said: “I believe he was murdered. I was shocked.
“Then I wondered how it happened because as far as I was concerned he was going…I was sure he was going to appeal. And I was sure he was covered by the non-prosecution agreement.
“But I wasn’t in the indictment. I wasn’t mentioned. I wasn’t even one of the co-conspirators.
“Honestly, I wish I had never met him.
“Looking back, I probably would have liked to stay in England. But leaving that aside, you know, I tried to leave and start another new job and leave at the end of 1998, 1999.
“So I wish I had more success moving on…Because I had been a banker so I should have completely moved on.”
Maxwell, daughter of late media mogul and MP Robert Maxwell, said she “didn’t know” Epstein “was so awful”, although he “obviously is now, in hindsight, of course”.
“But at the time, I mean he had a lot of friends. He was friends with just about everyone you could imagine,” she said from prison.
“There was no reason to imagine he was someone interesting to people.”
Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo believed to have been taken in 2001. Photo: Rex/Shutterstock
The convicted sex offender also believes the infamous photo of the Duke of York next to Virginia Giuffre is wrong.
Allegedly taken inside Maxwell’s Mayfair home, the photograph shows Prince Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre, who claims he had sex with her when she was underage.
Andrew questioned the validity of the image and claimed he had never met Ms Giuffre, who was Virginia Roberts at the time.
Epstein and Maxwell
Maxwell said: “Well, it’s a fake. I don’t believe it’s real. In fact, I’m sure it isn’t… There was never an original Also, there is no photograph; I have only ever seen a photocopy of it.
“I don’t believe it happened, certainly in the way described. It would have been impossible. I have no recollection of going to [the private nightclub] Hobo [where Ms Giuffre said Andrew danced with her].
“It’s definitely not an outfit I would have worn.”
The Duke paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case against Ms Giuffre after previously saying he had ‘no memory’ of meeting her and was ‘not one to hug in his arms” or to “show affection” in public.
He claimed in 2019 that it was not possible to prove whether the image had been faked.
Could Prince Andrew’s settlement be challenged?
Reports over the weekend claimed that Prince Andrew was now looking for ways to overturn the rules.
Attorney Wendy Murphy said if those reports are correct, the timing of the legal challenge could be important.
She told Sky News: “I think there’s about a 0.0 per cent chance of a court overturning a settlement. Let’s remember the money has already been paid, the court has signed it.”
Andrew did not accept guilt in the settlement.
