Ghislaine Maxwell's brother said her family is afraid for her safety after a Jeffrey Epstein associate was found dead in jail

• Jeffrey Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel was found dead in his French jail cell Saturday.
• Ghislaine Maxwell's brother told the New York Post he was shocked and concerned for her.

Ghislaine Maxwell's family expressed concern after an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in France on Saturday.

Jean-Luc Brunel, a former modeling agent, was found hanged in a Paris prison where he was detained while facing multiple counts of rape and sexual assault related to a sex-trafficking investigation.

In a statement provided to CNN on Saturday, Brunel's lawyers said his "decision was not guided by guilt, but by a sense of injustice," adding he "never stopped claiming his innocence."

Maxwell, an Epstein associate and British socialite, is currently in jail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being found guilty of sex-trafficking in December.

Her brother told The New York Post Saturday their family now "fears for her safety."

"It's really shocking," Ian Maxwell told The Post in an interview from his home in London. "Another death by hanging in a high-security prison. My reaction is one of total shock and bewilderment."

Epstein was found dead by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. His death caused a flurry of conspiracy theories that eventually prompted an investigation by the Department of Justice. The results of that investigation are expected to be released very soon, Insider's Jacob Shamsian reported.

Maxwell requested a new trial after jurors in her case told media outlets they shared their personal experiences with sexual assault during deliberations. The jurors said they may have helped sway the jury towards a conviction.

Legal experts previously told Insider it was "very likely" Maxwell's guilty verdict would get tossed and that she'd get a new trial, especially if the jurors did not disclose their personal experiences with sexual assault on the jury selection questionnaire.