Jeffrey Epstein once threatened to have a "witch doctor place a curse on (my) unborn children," reveals author who investigated his finances

Investigative journalist Vicky Ward has revealed certain details about her encounters with Jeffrey Epstein while researching his fortune for Vanity Fair in 2002. Ward revealed in a recent interview that the financier, who subsequently died in jail while awaiting trial on s*x trafficking charges, made threats directly against her unborn twins, threatening to hire a "witch doctor" to curse them if she published unflattering details about him.

Ward, author of The Idaho Four, stated on The Megyn Kelly Show on July 15, 2025, that she was tasked with researching the details of Epstein’s wealth and connections after the financier was mentioned in an article in The New York Post about Bill Clinton's trip to Africa.

Stuck in New York because of a high-risk pregnancy, Ward did all her data collection remotely, but Epstein checked in on her nearly every day to hear how things were going. Vicky Ward said,

"It became a nightmare because Jeffrey Epstein would get on the phone to me every day. He would phone me up pretty much to find out how I was getting on in my reporting. And he began to say things...sort of like, 'Well, if I don't like the direction this story goes in, I'll have a witch doctor place a curse on your unborn children.' I mean, that was creepy. And then he would say, 'And by the way, that's off the record.' "

Other threats were that her children would be kicked out of New York private schools and that her husband would be fired from his job. Epstein also showed up at the Vanity Fair office unannounced. Ward, who gave birth to the twins prematurely, asked for additional security at the neonatal ward amid fears Epstein may have targeted her family.

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Vicky Ward questions the lack of accountability for Jeffrey Epstein's enablers in the wake of DOJ rulings

Recent rulings by the US Department of Justice, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi’s insistence that there is “no Epstein client list,” have stoked frustration amongst those who expected a transparent investigation.

Bondi also restated that Epstein’s 2019 jailhouse death was a su*cide, even as questions have lingered about surveillance lapses.

Vicky Ward, who attended Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, appeared on CBC News' Front Burner and argued that the focus on Epstein’s crimes overlooks systemic failures. She said,

"I mean, there are many, many question marks about Jeffrey Epstein, but the one that I have been most consistently pursuing and got no answers to, is what is the role of all the rich and powerful and famous men who enabled him?...The question is, knowing what we know about Jeffrey Epstein's criminal enterprise, where is any investigation and any record of the role of all these men who made Jeffrey Epstein, at the very least, rich?"

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Vicky Ward's latest book, The Idaho Four, based on the 2022 Idaho murders, was released on July 14, 2025.

Edited by Niharika Dabral