A model recruiter accused of procuring young girls for convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home in France, according to French authorities.
Marie-Céline Lawrysz, deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court, confirmed Wednesday that the body of Daniel Siad was discovered earlier this week at his residence in Colombes.
Officials said an investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances surrounding his death.
“An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,” the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities also confirmed that an autopsy will be conducted to establish the cause of death.
Siad had recently spoken publicly about his relationship with Epstein during an interview with CNN’s Katie Polglase, where he denied ever knowing about the disgraced financier’s criminal conduct despite introducing him to two girls who later accused Epstein of sexually abusing them.
“I trusted him and believed this guy was a professional person,” Siad said during the interview.
“I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation. I believed this guy is a professional person.”
According to the article, Siad’s name appears thousands of times in Department of Justice files related to the Epstein investigation.
The records also indicate that Siad continued working with Epstein even after the financier was convicted in Florida and required to register as a sex offender.
Epstein died in 2019 from what authorities described as an apparent suicide while he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
According to the article, communications between Siad and Epstein frequently involved Siad sending photographs and personal details about young girls he had met and recruited. The girls were allegedly presented as potential assistants or workers for Epstein.
One email highlighted in the report dates back to 2015, when Siad allegedly sent Epstein a photograph of a 16-year-old girl along with one of her friends. Epstein reportedly replied that the girls were “too old.”
In addition to his reported connection to Epstein, Siad was also facing abuse allegations of his own.
The article states that multiple models accused him of rape. Siad denied those allegations.
“I have never raped anyone in my life,” he told BFMTV in May.
His death comes as questions surrounding Epstein and those connected to him continue to attract public attention.
A former model who provided a deposition in June as part of the ongoing investigation told the BBC that Siad’s death could represent a significant setback for investigators seeking additional information about Epstein’s network.
According to her, Siad may have possessed information that was never obtained because he was never questioned before his death.
“An important link in the chain has just vanished into thin air, without there even having been a chance to recover the information Daniel Siad might have possessed — given that he was never questioned,” she said.
French authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding Siad’s death beyond confirming that an investigation is underway and that an autopsy will be performed.
The inquiry into the cause of death remains ongoing as officials work to determine what happened following the discovery of Siad’s body at his home in Colombes. The findings of the autopsy are expected to help investigators establish how he died.
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