No sign of violence in death of Epstein-linked French modelling scout, prosecutors day

PARIS, July 24 - An autopsy found no signs of violence in the death of modelling scout Daniel Siad, who had ties to the late convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, French prosecutors said on Friday.

Siad, 69, was found dead at his home in Colombes, northwest of Paris, on July 20.

"No trace of recent violence potentially linked to the death was found", Nanterre prosecutor's office said in a statement, adding that the autopsy, conducted on July 23, had not established a direct cause of death.

The examination did, however, reveal impaired health and traces of a previous heart attack, the prosecutors added.

Toxicology and pathology tests to establish the cause of death were still pending.

Siad's name appeared nearly 2,000 times in files on Epstein released by the U.S. Department of Justice. French investigators placed him under special surveillance as part of a broad human trafficking and tax fraud investigation, but did not find enough evidence to arrest him. In May, Siad told French broadcaster BFM that his relationship with Epstein had been strictly professional.

His lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, said this week that investigators had found no evidence justifying Siad's arrest, meaning prosecutors and police had not concluded he had committed a crime.

Siad is the second man publicly linked to Epstein who has died in France.

Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanged in his prison cell in 2022 after 14 months in pretrial detention on charges, which he denied, of raping minors and sexual harassment.

Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. REUTERS