Ghislaine ‘too befuddled’ to testify, say family

The family of Ghislaine Maxwell fear she may be ‘too weak and befuddled’ to give evidence at her trial.

As her legal team prepare to start her defence case, it is claimed she is ‘very, very tired’ and ‘can’t focus on detail’ – casting serious doubt on whether she will give her side of the story in court.

The crucial decision on whether she testifies will be a ‘tactical as well as a practical one’, a friend of the family revealed.

The comments from a source close to ‘Team Maxwell’ are the clearest indication yet that she may not take the witness stand during her trial at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York. They came just days after her family complained she is not being given soap or enough food during the case and urged the US attorney general to intervene to improve her treatment ‘in the interest of justice and common humanity’.

Last month they filed a legal claim with the United Nations to investigate the US legal system over her ‘arbitrary detention’ and ‘dehumanising’ treatment in a tough New York prison, claiming it is worse than ‘a terrorist on death row’.

her defence case is expected to start at the end of next week. Defence lawyers in America usually advise their clients against getting in the witness box.

Veteran lawyer Mark D Richards told the New York Times: ‘I think she would do more harm than good.’ her lead attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, is set to spend the coming days assessing the pros and cons of her testifying.

A family friend told the Mail: ‘Ghislaine may be too weak and befuddled to testify. At the moment, there is scepticism over whether she is fit enough to give evidence because she finds it very difficult to concentrate. When you go in the witness box, you have to be as sharp as a button.’

The friend’s comments may surprise some courtroom observers who have described Maxwell as attentive and bright during the proceedings, remarking she is constantly taking notes and talking to her legal team.