French model scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein found dead near Paris

Discovery and investigation

Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old model scout with ties to Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead at his home in Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, on Monday evening. His body was discovered by a young woman he was living with, according to the Wall Street Journal. Deputy public prosecutor Marie-Celine Lawrysz confirmed on Wednesday that an investigation into the cause of death had been opened and an autopsy would be carried out. Siad had not been formally placed under judicial investigation in France, though he was named by chief Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau in February as one of the people who could be questioned in broader Epstein-related inquiries.

Siad's role in the Epstein network

Siad's name appears in nearly 2,000 documents in the declassified US Department of Justice Epstein files. He was in regular contact with Epstein from the late 2000s until at least 2017, sending profiles, photographs and sometimes videos of women he met while scouting in countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, South Africa, Spain, Morocco and Cuba. In a 2014 email to Epstein, Siad compared his recruitment to fishing.

In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish.

He worked on commission for modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel and also operated through What's Up Management. Siad maintained that his relationship with Epstein was strictly professional and that he believed he was providing women for legitimate model casting sessions for brands like Victoria's Secret and MC2.

Accusations and denials

At least five women in France accused Siad of rape and human trafficking. Among them is Swedish former model Ebba Karlsson, who alleged that Siad raped her in a pool house on the French Riviera in 1990. Siad denied all accusations, stating in a May television interview, "I never raped a woman in my life." He had not yet been questioned by investigators, as the French legal system requires a preliminary inquiry before a suspect is formally placed under investigation. His lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, said Siad died of a heart attack and had consistently proclaimed his innocence.

If he died of a heart attack, the unbearable waiting, the pressure and the anxiety he suffered every day will have had something to do with it.

A pattern of deaths

Siad is the second person connected to Epstein to die in France. Jean-Luc Brunel, a prominent modelling agent, was arrested in 2020 on charges of procuring women for Epstein and was found hanged in his prison cell in February 2022 after 14 months in pre-trial detention. Epstein himself died in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, a death ruled a suicide by authorities. For victims, Siad's death represents another lost opportunity for accountability. A former French model who says Siad recruited her in 2004 told Al Jazeera that "another link in the chain has disappeared that could have helped uncover the truth and identify those responsible."