Lady Victoria Hervey’s quest to prove the innocence of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has taken a disturbing turn.
The sister of the Marquess of Bristol, 48, a friend of Ghislaine, 62, is making a television documentary about the case.
But one of those she wanted to interview was murdered this summer.
“There was a little problem: my best man was murdered in Chicago in July,” she tells me. “It was listed as a violent crime.”
The sister of the Marquess of Bristol refuses to give the name of the deceased, but says she has now put her project on hold as a result.
“I’m taking some time off, a bit of a breather,” she tells me during the Frieze London 2024: private visit by John Copeland and Katrin Fridrik at the JD Malat Gallery in Mayfair, London. “I talked to people with evidence, and one of them was killed.”
Ghislaine, the former girlfriend of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was found guilty on charges of enticement of minors and sex trafficking of underage girls. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida prison.
Lady Victoria Hervey’s quest to prove the innocence of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has taken a disturbing turn – Lady Victoria is pictured here on her birthday on October 7
Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured) is serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida prison after being found guilty of charges of enticement of minors and sex trafficking of underage girls
Epstein was found dead in a US federal prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Ghislaine, like Lady Victoria, is a friend of Prince Andrew.
She lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, but told me last year that she had to flee the United States.
“It all started to get scary when I got involved in a new documentary about Ghislaine,” she said. “A whistleblower close to the girls over the past three years has contacted me and I am gathering evidence to support Ghislaine and Prince Andrew.
Lady Victoria Hervey, Ghislaine Maxwell and designer Shizue Nobuta pictured in 2004
Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) died in a jail cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges
‘I’ve been working undercover and it’s dangerous. The powers that be there know everything about me. I even thought I was being followed. I was happy to return to Britain. I just want this to be over, to stop looking over my shoulder and to get back to normal.”
The socialite added: ‘I have written to Ghislaine in prison and am in contact with Prince Andrew but I cannot talk about him even though the palace is fully aware of what is going on.
“It’s delicate, but I think there is hope for Ghislaine.”