Ghislaine Maxwell has unexplained black eye in first photo from prison

Ghislaine Maxwell appears unrecognizable in the first photo released of her since her imprisonment — and shows the accused madam of sporting a black eye that her attorneys cannot explain.

What are the details?

Maxwell, 59, is the former girlfriend of the late convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. She has been in federal custody for roughly 10 months over allegations that she groomed young girls and women who became victims of Epstein during the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

Last month, Maxwell was charged with sex trafficking of a minor, over allegations that she groomed a 14-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with Epstein.

Epstein died in 2019 while being held awaiting trial in a cell at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, and his death was ruled a suicide. But his past links to several powerful leaders — including former President Bill Clinton, then-President Donald Trump, and the UK's Prince Andrew — cast doubts over whether he took his own life.

Maxwell is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and officials want to be sure she stays alive. So guards keep a close watch on their high-profile inmate, checking every 15 minutes to be sure she is still breathing.

But Maxwell's lawyers want those check-ins to stop.

Fox News reported that Maxwell attorney Bobbi Sternheim submitted a court filing Thursday afternoon, which included the photo of his client's black eye. Sternheim stated that Maxwell does not know how she received the injury, but the lawyer speculated that it might have come from Maxwell shielding her eyes from flashlights during checks by guards.

Sternheim told the court that Maxwell "has grown increasingly reluctant to report information to the guards for fear of retaliation, discipline and punitive chores."

Anything else?

Maxwell has been denied bail multiple times since being detained last year. In late December, she even offered a $28.5 million bail package that was turned down by a judge.

For now, she is set to remain at MDC until her trial, which is expected to take place in July.