Dan Rivers
Feb 13, 2026
Words by ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers and ITV News Washington News Editor Jonathan Wald
ITV News accompanied Dorothy Groenert, whose late daughter Carolyn was the key witness who helped to convict Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, for sex trafficking, on a personal voyage across the US.
Words by ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers and ITV News Washington News Editor Jonathan Wald
Dorothy Groenert had never visited the place where she felt her daughter’s soul died.
Epstein’s mansion has long been demolished, but seeing where it once stood next to a waterway in West Palm Beach, not far from Mar-a-Lago, is a deeply emotional experience for her.
Her daughter, Carolyn Andriano, was just 14 when she met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
She began work in the mansion as a cleaner but was then abused by them for three years, resulting in a spiral of depression and drug dependency, culminating in her death nearly three years ago, in what was ruled an accidental overdose.
We accompanied Dorothy on a personal pilgrimage the length of the country, from Florida to New York, as she struggled to contend with the slew of new information about what went on in Epstein’s house and how it affected those who were abused.
We filmed as she returned to her daughter’s favourite beach for the first time since Carolyn's death. Her memories are now tainted as she watches the sun set.
Her daughter’s journey from innocent schoolgirl to abuse survivor is laced with grim details.
Dorothy recalls Carolyn would sometimes return covered in bruises and bite marks, grim signifiers of the suffering she endured. When challenged by Dorothy, she insisted her injuries were caused by falling down the stairs.
She told her mother she cleaned mansions in West Palm Beach to earn money. The truth was more sinister.
After years of dissembling, Carolyn eventually confessed to how she was sexually abused by powerful men, including Epstein.
Dorothy recounts how Carolyn told her that Virginia Giuffre, who herself was groomed and trafficked by Epstein, worked at the mansion, recruited Carolyn, and tried to persuade her to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
"She enticed her to have sex with Andrew," Dorothy said. "Virginia said she had sex with him and Carolyn should do it as well. It was disgusting."
No meeting between Carolyn and Andrew ever took place.
Andrew has previously vehemently denied any wrongdoing.Virginia Giuffre was one of the most prominent victims of Epstein's sex-trafficking ring. She alleged she was forced to have sex three times with Andrew, including when she was 17, and also during an orgy, after Epstein trafficked her. Andrew vehemently denies the allegations.
In her memoir, 'Nobody's Girl', Giuffre detailed how she was forced by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to recruit other girls for sexualised massages, which she described as "the worst thing I've ever done in my life", continuing "the faces of the girls I recruited will always haunt me."
Ms Giuffre died by suicide in April last year.
In New York, Dorothy drives with us past the court complex where Carolyn was the key witness who helped to convict Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, for sex trafficking.
Carolyn was scared during the trial, Dorothy said, and felt like she was being followed.
Due in large part to Carolyn’s brave testimony, Maxwell was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking, grooming and recruiting for sexual encounters with her then boyfriend, Epstein.
Across the East River, we end our journey in Queens, where Dorothy’s ancestors have lived for generations.
In the All Faiths cemetery, there is a family plot where Carolyn is interred next to Dorothy’s mother in an unmarked grave.
She is fundraising to pay for a headstone for this unmarked grave, within sight of the penthouses of Manhattan.
A young woman who was treated with contempt by the rich and powerful was buried in the most basic manner imaginable; the tragedy of Carolyn’s life and death has left her mother broken.
She yearns for justice, but is first focused on simply raising the money to build a memorial to her daughter’s death.
Site Director's Disclaimer: Dorothy Groenert is organizing a fundraiser for Carolyn, and raising funds for a funeral and memorial, with a headstone so that Carolyn can finally rest in peace. Your contributions are important for giving Carolyn justice. She deserved a better life. Follow the link below to the GoFundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/carolyn-andriano-memorial