US

Maxwell trial: Jury begins deliberations after previously unseen footage inside Epstein mansion released

Footage of Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion in Florida has been shown in court as the closing arguments of Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial take place.

The video of the late paedophile’s Palm Beach estate was shown as evidence in Maxwell’s federal sex-trafficking hearing.

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Inside Epstein’s Florida mansion

The 59-year-old British socialite is charged with eight counts of sex trafficking and other crimes, with prosecutors claiming she recruited and groomed four teenage girls to give erotic massages to Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein, who killed himself in his jail cell in 2019 before he went on trial on sex abuse charges, is reported to have bought the mansion in Florida in 1990.

The footage shows several paintings of what appear to be naked women, including a female bust hanging on one wall in a hallway.

The camera panned on a black Chanel handbag at one point
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The camera pans on a black Chanel handbag at one point
A black and white portrait of Maxwell was seen hanging on a wall
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A black and white portrait of Maxwell is seen hanging on a wall

There are also a couple of photographs of Maxwell, including a black and white portrait of her posing with a Yorkshire terrier dog.

A kitchen decorated with black and white tiles on the floor and a huge bookshelf in the corner is also shown in the video.

There is also a pink staircase, a living room with another large bookcase, and a marble bathroom decorated with a tartan rug and chandelier wall lights next to a mirror.

The camera at one point also zooms in on a black Chanel bag.

Pictures of female bodies and piles of books were also seen around the house
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Paintings of women and piles of books can also be seen around the house

Meanwhile, the jury is preparing to begin weighing up whether Maxwell set up teenage girls for the late financier to abuse.

She has pleaded not guilty and also said on Friday that she would not testify because prosecutors did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defence has also sought to portray the accounts of her four accusers as not credible.

After the prosecution’s closing argument ends, Maxwell’s defence team will then present its summation before the jury begins deliberating.

A kitchen was decorated with black and white floor tiles
Image:
A kitchen is decorated with black and white floor tiles

In her closing argument, prosecutor Alison Moe dismissed the defence’s claims that Maxwell was not aware of any crimes committed by Epstein, pointing to the fact that they had been in a relationship and saying Maxwell was “crucial to the scheme”.

Moe told the court: “When you’re with someone for 11 years, you know what they like. Epstein liked underage girls. He liked to touch underage girls. Maxwell knew it.”

The trial continues.