Edward Juul Rød-Larsen, the 25-year-old son of former Norwegian ambassador Mona Juul and diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen, has died by suicide, according to the family’s lawyers. The death was confirmed on April 30 by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
His parents are both under criminal investigation by Norway’s economic crimes unit, Økokrim, after released Epstein files revealed extensive financial and personal contact between the family and the late Jeffrey Epstein. Juul faces charges of aggravated corruption. Her husband faces charges of contributing to aggravated corruption. Both deny criminal guilt.
The young man was himself never accused of any wrongdoing and was never under investigation. But his name surfaced publicly because Epstein’s will, drawn up shortly before Epstein’s death in 2019, reportedly designated $10 million to Edward and his sister. According to Norwegian reporting, the money was never received, and it remains uncertain whether it ever would be.
Breaking: The son of a Norwegian diplomat who is under investigation for financial crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein has died by suicide, according to Norwegian media reports. The diplomat, Terje Rod-Larsen and his wife, Mona Juul, a former ambassador, are both under…
— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) April 30, 2026
Aftenposten published the initial report, citing family attorneys John Christian Elden and Thomas Skjelbred, and provided the most detailed account of the circumstances surrounding both the death and the family’s public ordeal.
Aftenposten reported that Mona Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen have lost their 25-year-old son, according to the family’s lawyers. The lawyers confirmed that the son took his own life and that relatives had been informed. The death comes nearly three months after Økokrim charged Juul with aggravated corruption and Rød-Larsen with contribution to aggravated corruption, charges stemming from released Epstein files that showed extensive contact between the couple and Jeffrey Epstein.
Aftenposten reported that the son had been mentioned in press coverage of the Epstein matters, including in connection with a family visit to Epstein’s island in the Caribbean and reports that Epstein had left $10 million to him and his sister. The family lawyers sharply criticized a public spotlight they said had stopped being merely critical and had become suspicious, speculative, and at times limitless. They said the spotlight had drawn the couple’s children involuntarily into public attention. They also warned that speculating about connections is irresponsible and undignified, because suicide is always complex and never has one explanation, one cause, or one blame.
That warning from the lawyers deserves to be taken seriously. Whatever your opinion of the parents’ alleged conduct, their son was 25 years old and never charged with anything. The facts of this case are extraordinary enough without layering on speculation that the evidence does not support.
BREAKING: Edward Juul Rød-Larsen, 25, son of Ambassador Mona Juul and Oslo Accords architect Terje Rød-Larsen, died by suicide in Oslo. His parents, named in the Epstein files, are under investigation for corruption by Norwegian authorities.
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) April 30, 2026
The broader investigation, however, is very real and expanding.
Økokrim laid out the basics of the case in a February 9 English-language statement confirming the investigation’s scope and seriousness.
Økokrim said a new investigation was opened in the aftermath of the released Epstein files. The agency decided to open an investigation against former ambassador Mona Juul and her husband Terje Rød-Larsen. Juul was charged with aggravated corruption, while Rød-Larsen was charged with contribution to aggravated corruption. Following a court-authorized search order, Økokrim searched an apartment in the Frogner district of Oslo and also searched a witness’s premises.
Director Pål Lønseth stated that the authority opened the investigation to determine whether criminal conduct had taken place and described it as comprehensive and seemingly long-lasting. Økokrim said it would investigate whether Juul had received benefits in connection with her positions at Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agency noted that it is investigating whether gifts, services, and money received from Epstein may constitute bribes under Norwegian law.
Terje Rød-Larsen had regular contact with Epstein from 2010 until shortly before Epstein was arrested in 2019. Both parents deny criminal guilt. The couple’s children have never been accused of wrongdoing and were never under investigation themselves.
The case took on a new international dimension just two days before the son’s death was reported. On April 28, Økokrim and French authorities established a joint investigation team intended to make international cooperation more efficient, eliminating the need for a new formal request each time information was needed between the two countries.
Juul resigned as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan in February after scrutiny over her Epstein contacts. Norway’s foreign minister called the decision “correct and necessary,” saying the contact showed a serious lapse in judgment. Both Juul and Rød-Larsen were once celebrated for their roles in facilitating the landmark Oslo Accords in the 1990s.
The facts surrounding this family are staggering on their own terms: two prominent diplomats charged with corruption tied to the most infamous criminal network of our era, a will naming their children for $10 million they apparently never received, an expanding international probe, and now the death of a young man who never asked for any of it. Speculation is easy. The lawyers are right that it is also irresponsible. What is not speculation is the growing weight of the Epstein files investigation, which continues to pull powerful figures into courtrooms across multiple countries. That process should be allowed to work.
What’s your assessment?