The death of Carolyn Andriano, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, has left her family seeking answers. Andriano’s testimony played a crucial role in the conviction of Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. She was found dead in a hotel room in West Palm Beach, Florida in May. Despite the absence of an obituary or funeral service, local authorities conducted an inquest into her death. The medical examiner’s ruling of an “accidental overdose” was accepted, but Andriano’s mother is now questioning the verdict, stating that her daughter was turning her life around.
According to police documents obtained by The Daily Beast, law enforcement officers responded to a report of an unresponsive woman feeling unwell at the West Palm Beach DoubleTree by Hilton on May 23. Andriano’s husband, John Pitts, informed the authorities that she had been vomiting and lost consciousness. He attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Andriano and her family had been residing at the hotel following the sale of their house, as they planned to move near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Police discovered Andriano unresponsive in the hotel room. The toxicology report revealed the presence of methadone and alprazolam, confirming the use of hard drugs. An independent review of the report by Lewis Nelson, the chairman of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine, indicated recent fentanyl use. Nelson suggested that Andriano’s high dose of methadone, combined with fentanyl, may have led to her rapid death.
During her testimony in Maxwell’s trial, Andriano disclosed her substance addiction, which developed during her visits to Epstein’s Virgin Islands estate as a teenager. She revealed using marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol as a means to cope with the abuse she endured.
Andriano’s mother, Dorothy Groener, expressed her dissatisfaction with the case’s closure and demanded answers. Groener has been engaged in a legal dispute with her son-in-law over her daughter’s will. She emphasized the need for justice and stated that her daughter was on the path to turning her life around.
