Western Australia’s government watchdog is investigating whether police acted appropriately in their dealings with Virginia Giuffre before her death last April.
It is understood the WA Ombudsman’s investigation is examining the issues raised by Giuffre’s family in the United States detailed in a letter to the organisation in June.
The ombudsman is responsible for independently investigating complaints about the actions of public authorities.
Giuffre’s brothers, Sky Roberts and Danny Wilson, and their wives, Amanda Roberts and Lanette Wilson, wrote to the ombudsman requesting a formal review of WA Police’s actions in the lead-up to her death at her Neergabby farm in Perth’s Wheatbelt.
The review comes after WA Police announced last month they had launched an internal review into their dealings with Giuffre and her allegations of family violence against her husband Robert Giuffre, made in January 2025.
In their letter, the family asked why Robert was not charged with assault after this incident and whether police acted appropriately in response to her reports of domestic violence and fears for her safety.
“We remain concerned that the broader risk picture Virginia reported was not treated with sufficient urgency (by police),” the family’s letter to the ombudsman said.
The family requested the ombudsman examine whether Giuffre’s complaint was properly investigated, what risk assessments were undertaken, how firearms concerns were handled and whether any systemic failures contributed to the outcome.
Robert was served with a 72-hour police order after the alleged January 9 assault.
The day after that order expired, on January 14, 2025, he successfully obtained a family violence restraining order against Virginia in the Perth Magistrates Court, which included her two youngest children, aged 15 and 17 at the time.
The interim order lasted for six months.
“We believe the combined toll of sustained abuse, loss of access to her children, and failures in the system’s response contributed to Virginia’s death by suicide,” the family’s letter states.
The family and several domestic and family violence experts and researchers have also written to WA Coroner Ros Fogliani seeking a public inquest into Giuffre’s death.
A spokesperson for the WA Coroner’s Court said no decision had yet been made on whether a public inquest would be held.
The spokesperson said the coroner was awaiting the police report into Giuffre’s death before determining whether an inquest would be held.
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Carla Hildebrandt is a journalist with WAtoday. She previously worked on ABC’s Four Corners and as a court reporter at The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. For secure contact: carlahildebrandt@proton.me.Connect via email.From our partners
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