Virginia Giuffre, the woman who publicly accused Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has died by suicide, her family announced Friday.

In a statement, her family said, “It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia. She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”

They described her children — Christian, Noah, and Emily — as the “light of her life,” noting that holding her newborn daughter gave Giuffre the strength to begin fighting back against those who had exploited her.

Giuffre had long been a prominent figure in the efforts to expose Epstein’s sex trafficking network. In 2009, she settled a civil lawsuit against Epstein for $500,000. She also alleged that Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew, accusing the British royal of sexually abusing her when she was under 18.

Prince Andrew repeatedly denied the allegations and challenged Giuffre’s credibility. Nevertheless, in 2021, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion and other locations in 2001. Prince Andrew ultimately settled the lawsuit in 2022 without admitting any wrongdoing.

In addition to her legal action against Epstein and Prince Andrew, Giuffre filed a separate civil lawsuit in 2015 against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, alleging that Maxwell facilitated the sexual abuse of Giuffre and other underage girls.

That case led to the release of hundreds of court documents over several years, beginning in 2019. Shortly after the first batch of documents was unsealed, Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell. His death was ruled a suicide by both the New York Medical Examiner and the Justice Department’s Inspector General.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on multiple charges related to the trafficking and abuse of minors and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She has continued to deny all allegations of wrongdoing and recently appealed her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, though the court has not yet taken action.

Giuffre’s death marks a tragic turn in the long and painful saga surrounding Epstein’s crimes, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and advocacy for survivors of abuse.