Another Epstein Associate Is Dead. He Is Only Part Of A Growing List

The circle of people who once orbited Jeffrey Epstein keeps growing smaller. Since the disgraced financier's own death in a New York jail cell in 2019, more than a dozen associates, accusers and investigators tied to his case have died, several in circumstances that were never fully explained. The most recent is Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old modelling scout found dead at his Paris home on Monday.

A 28-year-old woman staying with him at the time said she attempted CPR but could not save him. Officials suspect cardiac arrest, though Siad was under investigation for human trafficking and had appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files. Siad was under investigation for human trafficking at the time of his death, and his name had surfaced thousands of times in the files documenting Epstein's crimes.

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Officials believe he suffered a cardiac arrest, though the woman said he had shown no signs of illness before, The Telegraph reported. The French prosecutor's office has since opened an inquiry into his death and ordered a post-mortem examination. The news has revived long-standing conspiracy theories about the Epstein case and fears of a cover-up that first took hold after Epstein himself died in custody in August 2019.

How It All Began

Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he was found dead in his prison cell. The two guards responsible for watching him, who had been assigned after an earlier suicide attempt, reportedly fell asleep and failed to check on him for three hours. At the same time, the cameras positioned outside his cell were said to have stopped working.

In 2023, the US Department of Justice concluded that there had been "job performance failures" among prison staff, but maintained that Epstein had died by suicide. Even so, many remain unconvinced, pointing to the number of powerful people Epstein could potentially have implicated had he lived to stand trial.

Siad's Role In Epstein's Orbit

Siad's name appeared thousands of times across the Epstein files spanning a decade, pointing to a significant role in the disgraced financier's activities. Officially, Siad travelled internationally scouting women for modelling work, but the files suggest he was also scouting on Epstein's behalf.

Emails show Siad sending Epstein photographs of women along with their measurements, and arranging introductions between them. In one message, Siad told Epstein: "In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish." Epstein, for his part, covered Siad's expenses for these trips and pressed him for updates, asking in one email: "Wht about new girls?"

Siad had long maintained he knew nothing of Epstein's crimes. He told CNN, "I trusted him, I believed this guy is a professional person." But one alleged victim told the BBC earlier this month that Siad had introduced her to Epstein as part of what she called "a complete set-up," describing him as "essentially a professional trafficker."

Another former model who gave a deposition to police told the BBC that Siad's death meant vital information about Epstein had likely been lost for good, saying, "An important link in the chain has just vanished into thin air."

The Deaths That Came Before

Siad's is far from the first death to raise questions in connection with Epstein. Over the past decade, several people linked to him in different ways have died.

2014: Alfredo Rodriguez

A former butler to Epstein, Rodriguez died of cancer aged 60. He had previously been caught in an FBI sting attempting to sell Epstein's so-called "little black book" for $50,000 (£38,000), a document prosecutors reportedly called "the Holy Grail" for its detail on Epstein's victims, celebrity contacts and associates. Court papers say Rodriguez claimed he had taken the book as insurance, fearing Epstein might make him "disappear."

2018: Joe Recarey

The Palm Beach detective who led an early investigation into Epstein in the mid 2000s died aged 50 following what was described as a brief illness. Recarey, along with police chief Michael Reiter, had previously said they came under political pressure to drop the case. Recarey had said he varied his route to work and switched vehicles because he believed he was being followed.

2019: Thomas Bowers

A 55-year-old banker, Bowers reportedly took his own life at his home in Malibu. His employer, Deutsche Bank, had taken Epstein on as a client in 2013. The following year, the bank paid $150 million to settle charges in New York, admitting it had made a "critical mistake" in doing business with a registered sex offender.

2020: Steve Bin

A Hollywood producer who moved in similar social circles to Epstein, Bing died by suicide aged 55, after jumping from his 27th-floor apartment in Los Angeles. A celebrity blog had named both men as part of Bill Clinton's so-called "billionaire boys' club" in 2008.

2021: Efrain "Stone" Reyes

Epstein's final cellmate, Reyes died aged 51 at his mother's home in the Bronx, reportedly after contracting Covid-19. He had been serving time on drug charges and was transferred out of Epstein's cell on 9 August 2019, the day before Epstein was found dead. His lawyer, Marlon Kirton, said the two men had got on well, and that Reyes had not wanted to be moved because of "the relationship that he built up with Mr Epstein," adding, "I think my client's presence stabilised Mr Epstein."

2022: Jean-Luc Brunel

A French modelling agent, Brunel died aged 76 after being found hanged in his cell in a Paris prison, in circumstances strikingly similar to Epstein's own death. He had been held on suspicion of raping and trafficking minors, allegations he denied. Brunel had co-founded MC2 Model Management in the US with funding from Epstein, and investigators suspected he had helped transport and house young women for him. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, had alleged she was forced into sex with Brunel. After his death, she wrote on Twitter that she was "disappointed" she would not get to face him in a final trial.

2022: Steven Hoffenberg

Described as Epstein's mentor, Hoffenberg was found dead aged 77 at his home in Connecticut. He had previously served 18 years in prison and paid $1 million in fines along with $463 million in restitution over what the Securities and Exchange Commission called one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. Hoffenberg met Epstein in 1987 and gave him a $2 million loan. Their relationship soured after Hoffenberg accused Epstein of involvement in his Ponzi scheme, though Epstein was never charged, and Hoffenberg sued him in 2016. His body was found in an advanced state of decomposition, thought to have been dead for about a week, with a post-mortem finding natural causes.

2022: Mark Middleton

A former special assistant to Bill Clinton, Middleton had helped arrange Epstein's access to the White House, which he visited at least 17 times between 1993 and 1995, and had also flown on Epstein's private jet. Middleton, 59, was found dead at a ranch in Arkansas, apparently by suicide, hanging from a tree with an extension cord around his neck and a shotgun wound to his chest. A shotgun was found nearby.

2023: Bill Richardson

The former governor of New Mexico and US ambassador to the United Nations died in his sleep at his summer home in Massachusetts, aged 75, with no cause of death given. Richardson had been named in Giuffre's civil suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, with Giuffre alleging he was among the high-profile men to whom she was trafficked. Epstein had donated $50,000 to Richardson's 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and flight logs showed Richardson travelling with Epstein and three of his victims between the British and US Virgin Islands in 2011. A spokesman for Richardson said he did not know Giuffre and had never seen Epstein with young or underage girls.

2025: Virginia Giuffre

Perhaps the most prominent of Epstein's accusers, Giuffre died aged 41 at her home in Australia, reportedly by suicide. Her father, Sky Roberts, has publicly questioned that account, telling Piers Morgan, "Somebody got to her."