PARIS, July 22 - Daniel Siad, a modelling scout who appears frequently in documents connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was discovered dead at his residence outside Paris on Monday evening, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The Nanterre prosecutor's office confirmed the body was found on Monday and said an autopsy will be performed to establish the cause of death. Siad's name appears nearly 2,000 times in the files released by the U.S. Department of Justice, material that prompted renewed inquiries in France when it became public earlier this year.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the release of those files in February spurred a broad investigation into allegations of human trafficking and tax fraud. Since the probe began, 24 women have come forward as either victims or witnesses to alleged acts involving Siad or other individuals, Beccuau said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
Authorities had placed Siad under special investigative measures as part of the preliminary inquiry. Those measures included phone taps and other surveillance steps, but prosecutors stated these had not yet produced sufficient evidence to warrant his immediate arrest.
Despite Siad's death, the Paris prosecutor said the investigation will proceed. Roughly 10 investigators are assigned to the case, the office added.
French media reports have said that at least five women accused Siad, 69, of rape and human trafficking. Siad denied those allegations. His lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, said in a voice message that investigators had not uncovered "serious or corroborating indications" sufficient to justify an arrest, noting that prosecutors and police had not reached a conclusion that he had committed a criminal offence.
Under French procedure, suspects are placed under formal investigation only after a preliminary probe when investigative magistrates deem there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime was committed. That framework has shaped the handling of inquiries arising from the documents connected to Epstein.
Siad maintained his relationship with Epstein was professional, telling the French broadcaster BFM in May that there was nothing beyond business between them. Among the documents released were emails in which Siad wrote in imperfect English: "I am here in Barcelona I have girls staying with me from Australia Croecian origin, so you can speak with her very Sweet." He then added, "I am looking to place her here and Paris." Epstein's reply in that exchange was a single word: "photo?"
Arab-Tigrine said Siad had repeatedly sought to be heard by French judicial authorities but that no hearing had been arranged. In an emailed statement issued earlier on Wednesday, she said, "Daniel Siad never stopped proclaiming his innocence." She also told authorities that Siad had died of a heart attack.
Siad is the second man publicly linked to Epstein to have died in France. Jean-Luc Brunel, a modelling agent arrested in 2020 on allegations that he procured women for Epstein, was found hanged in his prison cell in 2022 after spending 14 months in custody awaiting trial on charges including rape of minors and sexual harassment. Brunel denied the charges and denied involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking.
Jeffrey Epstein himself died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Context and next steps
Officials said the autopsy will provide a medical determination of cause of death, while the judicial inquiry will continue to collect testimony and other evidence. The prosecutor's office indicated that investigative work remains active, underscoring that criminal proceedings in France can persist even when a suspect dies during a probe.
As the investigation proceeds, prosecutors will have to reconcile statements from alleged victims and the existing material from the released files with the findings of their own surveillance and forensic work. The limits of what has been established so far were highlighted by the defence argument that investigators lacked the corroborating evidence necessary to pursue an immediate arrest.
Who is affected
- Alleged victims and witnesses, whose testimonies have driven the current probe.
- Investigative and judicial authorities, which continue to manage the case and collect evidence.
- The modelling and talent management sector, which has been implicated by allegations involving agents and scouts.