An autopsy has found no evidence of recent violence in the death of 69-year-old modelling scout Daniel Siad, French prosecutors said on Friday, leaving the immediate cause of his death unresolved.
Siad was discovered dead at his Colombes residence, northwest of Paris, on July 20. Nanterre prosecutor's office released a statement noting that the post-mortem examination carried out on July 23 "No trace of recent violence potentially linked to the death was found", and that the procedure had not established a direct cause of death.
The prosecutors' statement added that the autopsy revealed impaired health and traces consistent with a prior heart attack. It also said that toxicology and pathology tests, which could help establish the cause of death, were still pending.
Siad has attracted attention because his name appears nearly 2,000 times in files on Jeffrey Epstein that were released by the U.S. Department of Justice. French authorities had placed him under special surveillance as part of a wider investigation into human trafficking and tax fraud, but investigators did not find sufficient evidence to detain or charge him.
In interviews earlier this year, Siad told French television that his dealings with Epstein were strictly professional. This week his lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, reiterated that investigators had not uncovered evidence that would have justified arresting Siad, and that prosecutors and police had not concluded he had committed a crime.
Siad is the second man in France publicly linked to Epstein who has died. Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanged in his prison cell in 2022 after spending 14 months in pretrial detention on charges he denied, including raping minors and sexual harassment. Epstein himself died in U.S. custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
As forensic analysts complete toxicology and pathology work, French authorities continue to treat the case as unresolved. The public record currently reflects the autopsy findings and the ongoing nature of medical testing, while legal inquiries that previously monitored Siad remain without a decision to pursue charges.