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Virginia
Virginia Giuffre’s father recalls dropping her off at Epstein’s mansion, shaking pedophile’s hand: report
Virginia Giuffre’s father remembers dropping her off at Jeffrey Epstein’s home and even shaking the pedophile’s hand when he was “checking Epstein out” after his then-teenage daughter accepted a job as the billionaire’s masseuse, according to a report.
Sky Roberts visited Epstein’s Florida mansion in 2000 while he was on his lunch break while working as a maintenance man at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, where Giuffre also worked.
Days earlier, a guest at the club approached a 16-year-old Giuffre at the pool as she was reading a book on massage therapy and asked if she wanted a job with her boss, Roberts told the Daily Mail.
Giuffre was ecstatic at the opportunity, and her dad was excited for her, too — but he wanted to meet this mystery boss first.
Roberts remembers pulling his pickup truck into Epstein’s house, which was “just down the street,” and meeting the financier and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell — but said “no bells went off” during the encounter.
“He seemed like a regular guy, and she seemed OK, too. I had no clue that this guy was a pedophile and that the woman was manipulating my daughter and the other girl,” the father said. “I thought I was doing my parental duty by checking Epstein out.”
Robert said Epstein came down the driveway and shook his hand.
“I said words to the effect that I’d wanted to meet him and to understand exactly what my daughter would be doing,” Roberts said.
“Epstein said ‘Oh, I do this to help a lot of girls — there’ll be people who will teach Virginia massage therapy… it’s a good career,” he continued.
Maxwell, Roberts said, was silent.
His daughter “was keen” on working for Epstein “because it was more money and the travel seemed a good opportunity,” he said.
“I had no idea, of course, what was really going on. Now I wish I’d known the extent of it, but I had no clue,” he told the paper.
Giuffre spent the next two years being groomed by Epstein and Maxwell, traveling around the world to their lavish estates where she was offered to their elite guests for sex. Photos show her when she was 17 with Prince Andrew’s arms around her waist, whom she claimed she was forced to have sex with.
“I don’t think he still has any remorse for what he did or that he feels guilty. I think he is angry because he was caught,” Roberts told the Daily Mail.
Giuffre was also allegedly tasked with helping the sick pair recruit other girls for the billionaire’s pedophile ring.
“She never came home from trips and said, ‘I’ve been sexually abused.’ It’s not something you’d talk about with a dad,” Roberts said.
Giuffre, now 40, lives in Australia. Her father, who remains in Florida, told the Daily Mail that they don’t see each other often, but he is proud of her.
Epstein, 66, killed himself in a lower Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Maxwell has since been convicted of recruiting and grooming young girls for sex and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
“I think she’s despicable because she was aware of what was happening. How she can look at herself in a mirror is beyond me because she ruined these kids’ lives,” Roberts told the outlet.
Roberts’ revelation comes just weeks after a trove of documents related to Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes were revealed as part of his daughter’s long-settled 2015 defamation lawsuit against Maxwell.
The 215 documents totaling nearly 5,000 pages laid out the scope of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, his network of powerful associates and his methods for luring female victims.
(WSET) — Average gasoline prices in Virginia have fallen 23.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.15/g on Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 4,081 stations in Virginia.
Prices in Virginia are 1 cent per gallon lower than a month ago and stand $1.21/g higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has decreased 15.5 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $5.437 per gallon, GasBuddy said.
SEE ALSO: Suspect in fatal shooting of Carroll County deputy captured in North Carolina
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Virginia was priced at $3.29/g on Sunday, while the most expensive was $5.59/g, a difference of $2.30/g. The lowest price in the state on Sunday was $3.29/g while the highest was $5.59/g, a difference of $2.30/g.
The national average price of gasoline has fallen 19.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.26/g on Monday. The national average is down 17.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.18/g higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
Virginia
Deadly crashes on Interstate 95 over 2 days prompt safety concerns along Virginia’s busy corridor
CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. — Two deadly crashes on I-95 in two days are drawing attention to safety concerns along one of Virginia’s busiest corridors.
Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen authorized felony warrants charging Jing Sheng Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Friday’s deadly bus crash in Stafford County. Additional charges are pending.
Investigators say the bus was traveling at a high rate of speed when it slammed into traffic slowing for a work zone on I-95 south, triggering a chain reaction involving at least eight vehicles.
“According to local first responders, five occupants of passenger vehicles in the traffic queue were tragically killed. Numerous other occupants, including the bus driver, were injured and some seriously,” National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said.
Family killed in I-95 bus crash was headed to wedding in South Carolina, relatives say
Family killed in I-95 bus crash was headed to wedding in South Carolina, relatives say
Among those killed was a Massachusetts family of four who were traveling to a wedding in South Carolina. A fifth victim, also from Massachusetts, was killed.
A total of 44 people were taken to hospitals, including three with critical injuries.
A woman who was on the bus described the scene in the aftermath of the crash.
“You have blood, people bleeding, people screaming, the bus smoking. A stranger came bust the window open and let us all out; I’m thankful for that,” passenger Judy said.
Dong remains hospitalized but is in custody after being served with the felony warrants. Prosecutors say more charges are possible. He will be held without bond, and his first court appearance will be scheduled once he is released from the hospital.
Then on Saturday, another deadly crash closed portions of I-95 in Caroline County.
WTVR
Christina Baker and her husband Joshua say they witnessed the crash unfold. They told us an SUV was speeding down the left shoulder of I-95 South before striking debris and losing control.
“It went down, and then it went up, and then just flew across the entire median across onto oncoming traffic going the opposite direction,” Christina Baker said. “I started screaming, saying, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.’”
Officials say one person died and two others were hospitalized. At this time, they have not released any more information about those involved.
The crash left the Bakers wanting to remind drivers to stay alert and think of others when behind the wheel.
“People should just stay in the lanes, drive the speed limit right, and be responsible. Because I felt for a moment, I was obviously concerned for our safety as well,” Joshua Baker said.
While the cause of both crashes remains under investigation, Chapman says the NTSB is noticing many common factors when it comes to crashes on I-95, including traffic backups.
“We also want to look very closely here to issues potentially involving fatigue, driver performance, those sorts of things. And vehicle performance issues. That might include factors such as automatic braking, whether the vehicle was or was not equipped with what’s called AEB. Those are the sorts of things we want to look at here and we might be able to learn some lessons,” Chapman said.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: Fatal I-95 Charter Bus Crash
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This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
Local News
The victims included a Greenfield couple and their two children, as well as a 25-year-old Worcester woman.
Four members of a Greenfield family and a Worcester woman have been identified as the five Massachusetts residents killed in a fiery charter bus crash on a Virginia highway this week.
Virginia State Police identified the victims as Dmitri Doncev, 45; Ecaterina Doncev, 44; Emily Doncev, 13; and Mark Doncev, 7, all of Greenfield, along with 25-year-old Priscilla R. Mafalda of Worcester.
The crash happened on Thursday on Interstate 81 near Lexington, Virginia, when a charter bus traveling from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, struck several vehicles as traffic slowed for roadwork. In addition to the five people killed, 34 others were injured and taken to local hospitals, according to authorities.
Investigators said the bus failed to slow down and slammed into a Chevrolet Suburban driven by Mafalda. The impact pushed the SUV into the Doncev family’s Acura, which caught fire.
Dmitri, a nurse at Holyoke Medical Center, was driving his family through the night to attend a wedding in South Carolina when the crash occurred, according to the Boston Globe.
Dmitri’s 27-year-old niece, Carolina Bublik, shared the family’s grief with the Globe, saying the Doncevs would join extended family at church every Sunday.
“Now it’s going to be very difficult, the next Sunday that comes around, where we will not be able to have them sit next to us at the lunch table,” said Bublik.
The Doncevs were members of the Providence Christian Academy community, where Emily and Mark attended school.
“The Doncev family was a cherished part of our school community, and their loss is being felt deeply by our students, families, faculty, and staff,” the school said in a statement.
A family friend started a GoFundMe to raise money for the family’s funeral expenses.
Few details were immediately available about Mafalda.
Police have charged the bus driver, Jing S. Dong, 48, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and authorities said additional charges are pending.
A Staten Island, New York, resident, Dong obtained his commercial driver’s license in 2024, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
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