NEW YORK CITY, NY – Ruslana Korshunova, a prominent model who leaped to her death from her Wall Street apartment building in 2008, had reportedly been one of the teenage girls taken to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Korshunova, known for her features in numerous high-profile advertisements, was just 18 years old when she flew with Epstein to his Little St. James property, as per released flight logs dated June 7, 2006. Her trip to the Caribbean came weeks before Epstein’s arrest later that year for engaging in sex with underage girls.
Epstein, along with his bodyguard Igor Zinoviev, chef Lance Calloway, assistant Sarah Kellen, a woman identified as Stephanie Tidwell, and an anonymous UFC fighter, were also listed as passengers on the flight with Korshunova. It remains uncertain what transpired during their stay on the island notorious for Epstein’s alleged sexual exploitation of young girls.
Korshunova’s untimely death at only 20 years old shocked many. She reportedly cut a hole in the construction mesh enclosing her ninth-floor balcony before falling to her death. Witnesses equated the noise of her fall to the sound of explosive gunfire.
Her boyfriend at the time, Artem Perchenok, shared that Korshunova had lost a significant amount of weight in the month prior to her death. Struggling to balance her personal life with a demanding work schedule, he believed she had succumbed to despair.
While it is unclear when or how Korshunova met Epstein, 2006 was a crucial year for the model. By the end of the year, she was the cover star of the New York Times Style magazine. It is unclear whether her journey with Epstein had any impact on her.
A 2014 book by Peter Pomerantsev suggested that Korshunova joined a controversial “self-help group,” attracting criticism of being a cult, after a dip in her modeling career.
Korshunova was a celebrated beauty in the modeling world, earning her the nickname “The Russian Rapunzel.” She was featured in runway shows for notable fashion designers and worked with elite modeling agency IMG at the time of her death.