Death of Daniel Siad: Complainant calls for clarification of cause of death

Colombes – 22 July 2026: The death of Daniel Siad has shocked the women who had made allegations against the former model scout. The 69-year-old was found dead in his apartment in Colombes, northwest of Paris, on Monday, 20 July. The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office confirmed the death and opened proceedings to determine the cause of death. As of Wednesday, no further official information on the circumstances of the death had initially been released.

Ebba Karlsson, a former Swedish model, said, according to the AFP news agency, that she was deeply affected and angry. She is calling for a thorough investigation. For her, the issue is not only the death of a man facing serious allegations, but also the unresolved question of whether those affected can still receive answers regarding the experiences they described.

Karlsson filed a complaint against Siad with the Paris public prosecutor’s office in February 2026. She accuses him of rape and human trafficking. According to her account, she met him in 1990, when she was 20 years old. Siad consistently denied these allegations. As recently as May, he said that he wanted to be questioned by investigators and was prepared to face the accusations.

According to media reports, several complaints had been filed against Siad by women, including over rape and human trafficking. His name also appeared in extensive documents on the Jeffrey Epstein affair published in the United States. However, this alone does not establish criminal responsibility. At the beginning of 2026, the French judiciary opened investigations into allegations connected to the affair.

For Karlsson and other women, the death takes on additional significance. They see Siad as a possible source of information about contacts and events that, in their view, have not yet been sufficiently clarified. British journalist Lisa Brinkworth, who co-founded the Victorious Angels – WE RISE collective with Karlsson, described it as a serious setback for those affected who had hoped for a judicial reckoning.

The investigation by the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office is currently focused exclusively on the circumstances of the death. It was initially not publicly known whether an autopsy or further forensic examinations had been ordered. For the women who filed complaints, a new urgent question now remains alongside their own allegations: What happened in the apartment in Colombes – and which parts of the wider case can still be clarified despite Siad’s death?