Daniel Siad, the 69-year-old French model scout whose name appeared nearly 2,000 times in the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice in January, was found dead at his home in Colombes, a suburb of Paris, on Monday evening July 20.
The discovery was made by the sister of a neighbor. French prosecutors confirmed the death Wednesday and announced an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause.
His attorney Menya Arab-Tigrine said she believed Siad died of a heart attack, citing the unbearable pressure and anxiety he had been living under. "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," she told AFP.
Siad was under investigation by French prosecutors in connection with allegations of human trafficking and rape, all of which he denied throughout his life.
He had not yet been formally charged and had not been questioned by investigators, though he had offered to speak with authorities. His attorney said he died an innocent man who was never given the chance to tell his side.
The DOJ files showed Epstein corresponded frequently with Siad about young women. Siad told CNN in an interview published last month that he had no reason to believe the women he recommended to Epstein had been harmed. He said he trusted Epstein and believed he was a professional.
He is the second person with connections to the French modeling world and Epstein to die before facing trial. Modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found dead in his Paris prison cell in 2022.