The first time Kathryn Comolli laid eyes on Ghislaine Maxwell was when the convicted sex trafficker was about to enter the isolation unit at Tallahassee prison in the autumn of 2022.
'She was just standing there in an orange jumpsuit and orange flip flops, with handcuffs behind her back and a guard on both sides. She was looking down at the ground, tense and angry.
She had just been strip-searched, which involves squatting naked and coughing because they don't want any contraband [concealed on the person],' says Comolli, who for more than three months slept a few feet away from Maxwell at the notorious Florida jail.
'I heard some female inmates shouting: 'Here comes Maxwell. Here comes that big money b**ch.' I thought to myself: 'Oh my God, there she is. What is she doing here in this hell-hole?' But Maxwell stayed cool, calm and collected. That was the way she was. Her golden rule seemed to be that she would keep herself to herself.'
They first saw each other in the isolation unit shortly after Comolli arrived at Tallahassee. Maxwell, 63, had already been at the prison for a few months – but had to spend a night in the unit as punishment for talking to the media without permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
