Second Epstein-Linked French Scout Found Dead Before Trial
French prosecutors have announced that a modelling scout with close ties to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home outside Paris, in a development that has sent shockwaves through the ongoing French investigation into Epstein’s network.
Daniel Siad, 69, a French modelling scout under investigation in France, was found dead at his home near Paris on Wednesday morning, prosecutors confirmed.
He was one of several French men accused of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women.
The Nanterre prosecutor’s office said an investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery of the body.
No cause of death has been officially confirmed.
Two former models had previously told AFP that Siad groomed them with the aim of delivering them to Epstein, in one case in the 1990s and another in the 2000s. He was among six other men facing similar accusations in France.
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Siad’s death comes as France has been deepening its investigation into French nationals who allegedly facilitated Epstein’s crimes.
French magistrates reopened investigations into several public figures tied to Epstein earlier this year, with Siad among those under scrutiny.
Epstein, the disgraced American financier, ran a vast international sex trafficking network involving underage women and girls before being arrested.
He was found dead inside his prison cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on 10 August 2019.
His death was ruled a suicide, though it has remained the subject of widespread public controversy.
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Siad is not the first figure with ties to Epstein to die before facing trial in France.
Jean-Luc Brunel, a former French modelling agent and close associate of Epstein, was found dead in his prison cell at La Sante Prison in Paris in February 2022 while awaiting trial on charges of rape and sex trafficking of minors.
His death was also ruled a suicide.