How did Jeffrey Epstein's death affect Ghislaine Maxwell?
Peacock documentary Epstein's Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, out now on NBCU's streaming service, reveals never-before-seen documents and new information regarding Maxwell's alleged involvement in the "enticement of minors, sex trafficking of children and perjury," per charges of her July 2020 arrest. (She pleaded not guilty to the six-count indictment against her in Epstein's sexual abuse case.) Maxwell is currently in jail awaiting trial set to commence on July 12, 2021.
She is currently awaiting trial.
Maxwell, the daughter of late British media proprietor Robert Maxwell, was multimillionaire financier Epstein's confidante; Epstein died in his jail cell while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
In a haunting, exclusive sneak peek at the documentary, Maxwell's "Oxford contemporary" and writer Anna Pasternak points out the "many parallels" between Maxwell's father and Epstein.
"Did [Robert] Maxwell jump off the back of the boat in the Canary Islands, or was he murdered? Did Epstein hang himself in a New York prison, or was he murdered?" Pasternak asks. "It's actually quite creepy the similarities between them both. There's something very sinister about both stories."
Commentators also suggest that Epstein's death put "the fear of God" into Maxwell; regardless of whether or not she believed he was murdered, Maxwell was then the prime target for investigators.
"She has to be afraid because she's, like, the next in line of succession," one expert says. "It's all sort of shifted to her."
Others suggest that Maxwell "had to disappear" following Epstein's death because of the Virginia Giuffre defamation case documents that were made public in May 2016. "That's when this whole scheme unraveled," a source explains. "It was large-scale sex trafficking, and her name was now associated with it."
The investigative docu-series Epstein's Shadow focuses on the "complicated and mysterious life" of Maxwell, per a press release. "Ghislaine Maxwell, who was once the heiress to the Maxwell fortune but whose life takes a sordid downturn when she meets Jeffrey Epstein, the serial sex offender," the official statement reads. "This investigative series will reveal a complicated story of power, sex, and money, which leads to Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest awaiting trial in November 2021."
Watch the chilling clip above!
Epstein's Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell is streaming now on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)