Ghislaine Maxwell trial verdict LIVE – Judge in Jeffrey Epstein ‘madam’s’ case warns Omicron could disrupt deliberations

Word doc: Maxwell and Epstein were ‘best friends’

FBI agents found a Word document, created by using the name ‘gmax’, which has been linked to Maxwell, that described the defendant’s relationship with Epstein.

It read: “Jeffrey and Ghislaine have been together, a couple, for the last 11 years.”

“They are, contrary to what many people think, rarely apart. I almost always see them together.”

It continued: “Ghislaine is highly intelligent and great company with a ready smile and an infectious laugh, will always put one at one’s ease and always makes one feel welcome.”

“Jeffrey and Ghislaine share many mutual interests and they have a lot of fun together. Jeffrey and Ghislaine complement each other really well and I can’t imagine one without the other.”

“On top of being partners, they are also the best of friends.”

Documents found during police raid

Prosecutors have detailed a cache of documents that were seized from Epstein’s New York mansion during a raid in 2019.

A large safe containing binders of CDs, cash, computer hard drives, diamonds, and passports was found.

FBI agents left the house to obtain a warrant for the safe, but when they returned four days later everything from the safe was gone.

The items were later returned in two suitcases by one of Epstein’s lawyers and the safe was later found buried in a closet.

Charges against Maxwell

Prosecutors alleged that between 1994 and 1997 she helped Epstein to groom girls as young as 14.

Maxwell has been charged with six counts of perjury and sex trafficking offenses:

• Count one: Conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts 
• Count two: Enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts 
• Count three: Conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity 
• Count four: Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity 
• Counts five and six: Perjury – the offence of wilfully telling an untruth or making a misrepresentation under oath.

The 17-page indictment against Maxwell accused her of grooming and befriending victims, normalizing inappropriate behavior, being present during abuse to put victims at ease, encouraging victims to accept Epstein’s help, and encouraging victims to engage in sexual activity and taking part herself.

Jury nears 24 hours of deliberations

The jury in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial has spent four days deliberating the case.

It is nearing 24 hours of deliberations.

Prosecution objects to defense request

The prosecution did not agree that additional instructions should be sent for counts two and four.

“There is no reason to be speculating about what the jury is thinking,” one of the assistant prosecuting attorneys said.

The state added that sending the additional instructions would further confuse the jury.

Judge Nathan said that the jurors have not asked questions about count two.

“I’m not going to give them an incorrect instruction,” said Judge Nathan.

Defense submits letter to judge

Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense team submitted a letter to the judge, requesting that the jury be given “additional instructions to correct apparent errors in the jury’s understanding of Counts Two and Four,” the lawyers wrote.

Judge addresses Covid-19, considers asking jury to stay

Judge Nathan said she will update the courtroom later today on how jury deliberations will move forward with the increased threat of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The judge already asked the jury to stay until 6pm today.

Defense attorneys arrive

Isabel and Christine Maxwell arrive at courthouse

The sisters of alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell were photographed arriving at the New York federal courthouse this morning.

Does Ghislaine Maxwell have kids?

Ghislaine Maxwell does not have any children of her own, but is reportedly the stepmother to her husband’s children from his first marriage.

According to reports, Maxwell secretly wed tech millionaire Scott Borgerson in 2016.

Maxwell’s own family didn’t know about the wedding until her bail hearing, according to her brother, Ian.

Who is Scott Borgerson?

Scott Borgerson is the CEO of CargoMetrics.

He lives in a £2.3million ocean-front mansion in Massachusetts, and his company was valued at $100million in 2020.

He has been linked to Ghislaine Maxwell, and it is alleged that he is the British socialite’s “secret” husband.

However, Borgerson has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming that he and Maxwell are just old friends.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s romantic history, continued

According to a 2009 deposition, several of Epstein’s household employees testified that Epstein referred to Maxwell as his “main girlfriend.”

It is unclear exactly when or if their relationship went from romantic to platonic before he was jailed for soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.

Following his initial release, the two were no longer seen in public together.

Maxwell was then linked to the founder of Gateway Computers, Ted Waitt. The two attended Chelsea Clinton‘s wedding together in 2010, and Maxwell reportedly helped Waitt to renovate a luxury yacht, Plan B, before they eventually split.

While the exact time and date of the wedding is unknown, Maxwell and Borgerson have been married since 2016.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s romantic history

While Maxwell has not been married prior to her nuptials with Scott Borgerson, she has been linked to a series of high-profile men over the years.

In the 1990s, Maxwell dated Count Gianfranco Cicogna, an Italian aristocrat and millionaire. According to reports, the two ended on bad terms.

Following her relationship with Cicogna, Maxwell began dating Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself while behind bars in 2019.

Ghislaine Maxwell sketch

The socialite was captured yesterday with her mask lowered as she sipped from a cup.

In her own words, continued

In her first interview from behind bars, Maxwell told the Mail on Sunday that she is being kept in “inhumane” solitary confinement the entire time.

Maxwell, who is accused of helping to find teenage girls for billionaire financier Epstein to abuse, denies sex trafficking charges.

She added: “I used to take a shower every day but I’ve stopped because of the creepy guards who stand close and stare at me the whole time.”

In her own words

Ghislaine Maxwell spoke out from her jail cell ahead of her trial – claiming “creepy” guards watch her as she uses the bathroom.

Speaking to the Mail On Sunday she said: “I used to go to the loo with an open sewer drain and a friendly rat would regularly visit. 

“I told the guards, but nothing was done until the rat popped out and charged a guard who screamed in terror. 

“Finally, the sewer drain was covered.”

Two dozen prosecution witnesses testified

Before closing arguments were made, 24 prosecution witnesses testified.

Four of those witnesses were women who alleged they were victims of abuse by Epstein with the help of Maxwell.

Prosecutor Alison Moe told the jury: “These women know what happened to their own bodies.

“Your common sense tells you that being molested is something you never forget, ever.”

What does the 17-page indictment against Maxwell accuse her of?

The 17-page indictment against Maxwell accused her of grooming and befriending victims, normalizing inappropriate behavior, being present during abuse to put victims at ease, encouraging victims to accept Epstein’s help, and encouraging victims to engage in sexual activity and taking part herself.

One accuser Jennifer Araoz said Maxwell was at the “center of his sex trafficking ring.”

If convicted on all counts, Maxwell could face up to 80 years in prison.

Maxwell denies all accusations.

Maxwell’s jail complaints

Maxwell has repeatedly complained about her treatment and recently said her toilet was a rat infested open sewer drain.

She has claimed that she is being watched by guards and her only company is the rats near to the open sewer drain in her cell.

Her lawyers argue her jail conditions are fit only for fictional serial killer Lecter, and say her continued imprisonment is “untenable and unreasonable”.

A motion filed in April this year alleges Maxwell has been subject to “invasive searches”.

She is served “inedible” food and her water is often cloudy, they say.

It’s also claimed she was forced to crawl on her hands and knees to get into a prison van.

Maxwell deemed a ‘flight risk’

Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and has repeatedly been denied bail meaning she’s brought to the court every day from her jail cell.

The $20 million she had stashed in several bank accounts, as well as holding more than one passport, meant a judge deemed her a flight risk.

Her detention means she has spent longer behind bars awaiting trial than Epstein, who was found hanged in his New York prison cell in 2019.

What happened to Jeffrey Epstein?

Jeffrey Epstein died in his prison cell in August 2019, after being federally charged with exploiting dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida in the early 2000s.

He previously attempted suicide in late July of 2019, before his reported successful suicide attempt in early August.

The guards who were supposed to monitor Epstein are facing federal charges for not properly supervising him prior to his death.

One day before he reportedly killed himself, a federal appeals court released the transcript of a 2016 deposition in which Epstein repeatedly refused to say whether Maxwell had procured young girls for him.

Deliberations to continue on Tuesday

The jury ended day four of deliberations without a verdict.

They’ll return at 9am on December 28, 2021.

The judge informed jurors that she wants them to stay until at least 6pm Tuesday if they haven’t reached a verdict before then.

Maxwell spent her 60th birthday in jail

Maxwell spent her Christmas Day birthday behind bars in a hellhole prison as a jury continues to decide her fate.

The socialite turned 60 on Saturday, which she spent in New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center after jurors were sent home for the holiday.

What emerged during the trial?

• Jury shown creepy pictures of Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein a foot massage.
• Maxwell and Epstein pictured lounging in the Queen’s log cabin at Balmoral
• Ghislaine Maxwell laid out a schoolgirl outfit for her to wear while serving tea to paedo Jeffrey Epstein.
• Trump, Andrew and Bill Clinton all flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet, the paedo millionaire’s former pilot said
• Maxwell handed Epstein’s housekeeper a “degrading” 58-page booklet which shows staff were told to “see nothing and say nothing”.
• A framed photo of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein kissing shown

What charges is Maxwell facing?

Ghislaine Maxwell faces six charges over her alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein:

• Conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex act
• Enticement of a minor ‘Jane’ to travel to engage in illegal sex
• Conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
• Transportation of a minor ‘Jane’ with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
• Sex trafficking conspiracy
• Sex trafficking of a minor – ‘Carolyn’