A model scout linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at her home.
Daniel Siad, 69, was found on Monday in Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed to the BBC.
“An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of his death on Monday evening following the discovery of this incident,” said the office, adding that an autopsy will be conducted.
Siad’s name appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files released by the US government. He had previously denied knowledge of the threat posed by Epstein.
Epstein’s victim Anya – not her real name – previously told the BBC that Siad had introduced her to Epstein.
“It was a complete scheme,” he said, describing Siad as a “professional smuggler”.
During an e-mail to Epstein released from the files, Siad wrote in badly spelled English: “In this crisis I feel like a fisherman sometimes catching a cache quickly, sometimes not hiding”.
Before the BBC’s investigation into the story published on July 18, Siad’s lawyer said he was unavailable for comment, but in a recent interview with CNN, Siad said he did not know the women had been abused by Epstein: “I trusted him, I believe this guy is a professional.”
Siad himself has been the subject of many complaints in France, including allegations of rape, the first of which was filed in February. He has denied wrongdoing in several recent media interviews, telling BFMTV in May: “I have never raped anyone in my life.”
The former model’s lawyers, who filed the first complaint, said they were “shocked” by her death.
“We have run out of words to describe the anger and sadness we feel,” they said, depressing their clients “who have now denied the crime”.
The lawyers said they felt “great anger at the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, which announced last February that it was opening an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s associates in France”.
They accused the office of not carrying out a “disgrace” which they said “shows the contempt of public authorities for victims of sex crimes, even if these crimes are connected to the human trafficking network established by Epstein and his associates”.
The BBC has contacted the prosecutor’s office for comment.
A former model who made a plea to police in June as part of the investigation into Siad told the BBC that his death meant that any information she might have had about Epstein had been lost.
“What is important in this series has just disappeared, without there being even a chance to get information that Daniel Siad may have had, as he was not asked,” he said.
“Most of the time we’re lost… and it’s another way for the leads to go cold. I hope we don’t have to wait another seven years to see his house searched, although I think it’s too late.”
Anne-Claire Le Jeune, who represents the six women who made complaints about Siad, said that the victims did not get justice.
“My clients have gained the power to break a great deal of silence, given the relationship between Daniel Siad and Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. “They faced every phase of the case with incredible courage.”
“It is very sad that the slow progress of the investigation led to his death before he could be interrogated or taken into police custody, thus depriving the victims of an important step in their search for truth and justice.”
Another partner of Epstein, French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, was found hanged in his Paris prison cell in 2022.
The 76-year-old man has been in custody for more than a year as he is being investigated for raping children and trafficking children for sexual abuse. Brunel had denied any wrongdoing.
Brunel founded MC2 Model Management with Epstein’s funding and was accused of transporting and housing girls or young women for Epstein.
Epstein, 66, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
