A courtroom sketch artist covering the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial has spoken out about the "odd moment" the British socialite started to draw her.
Speaking to The Sun, illustrator Elizabeth Williams revealed that the moment occurred during a pre-trial hearing in November. Williams - who has been a courtroom sketch artist for 40 years - says that Maxwell turned in her chair to face her, stared at her, and then proceeded to draw her.
Williams also stated that Maxwell did this a second time throughout November. The second instance was illustrated by another courtroom sketch artist, Jane Rosenberg, who was also sketched by Maxwell.
Rosenberg's image shows Maxwell staring her in the eye and proceeding to draw her, all while sitting between defense attorneys Bobbi Sternheim and Jeffrey Pagliuca ahead of the trial's jury selection.
"It was the first thing she did when she got into court," Williams told The Sun of the bizarre interaction. "It was like she didn’t think anyone would notice. She stared right at us, and it was definitely an odd moment."
Speculating on why Maxwell would draw them in the first place, Williams questioned whether the socialite was trying to "psyche" them out or just "missing human contact." Whatever the reason, she said that Maxwell's actions failed to "creep them out".
"She’s not exactly an intimidating person," Williams added. "The second time she did it, she turned right around to us. It was very deliberate."
The image above, provided by Reuters via Alamy, was accompanied with the caption: "Ghislaine Maxwell, the Jeffrey Epstein associate accused of sex trafficking, makes a sketch of court artists while seated between defense attorneys Bobbi Sternheim and Jeffrey Pagliuca, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe speaks during a pre-trial hearing ahead of jury selection."
Williams added that as the trial continued, Maxwell started to smile and wave at her - something she says has stopped over the last few days as the first week of the trial has come to an end.
The sketch has since been circulated on social media, with one person on Twitter describing it as "scary" and another saying that the sketch artists should be given "protection".
Williams - who has covered many high-profile cases - also told The Sun that cult leader Charles Manson used to draw his courtroom sketch artist.