Woman Found Dead Near Paula Abdul’s Home Was Former ‘Idol’ Contestant
The woman who was found dead in a car parked near Paula Abdul’s Sherman Oaks, Calif., home last night has been identified as Paula Goodspeed, 30, a former contestant on “American Idol’s” Season 5.
Goodspeed was found shortly after 6 PM on Tuesday, after the Los Angeles Police Department received a tip from a neighboring agency, according to LAPD spokesperson Officer Karen Smith.
“Our Van Nuys division did receive a call from the Ventura County’s Sheriff. A woman’s parents reported her missing and they thought that she may be at Paula Abdul’s house,” Smith told Access Hollywood on Tuesday night.
The parents of the woman reportedly believed their daughter was nearby Abdul’s home as she was reportedly “a big fan” of the “Idol” judge, Officer Smith told Access.
When authorities arrived, the unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are awaiting a coroner’s report to verify the cause of death.
Footage of a car parked on the street where the incident occurred, and shown on Fox News 11 in Los Angeles, who first reported the story, showed Paula Abdul laminates dangling from the rearview mirror.
Goodspeed was shown auditioning for the FOX reality show in February 2006.
Dressed in pink, and with a mouth full of braces, she claimed, “You have to have a certain personality to pull my look off.” She also claimed to be a major Paula Abdul fan.
“I really like Paula Abdul a lot,” Goodspeed said on the show. “ She’s really cool. I’m like, a really big fan. And I made life-sized drawings of Paula. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid and my first drawing was of Paula Abdul.”
After performing “Proud Mary” for the judging panel, she left Abdul surprised.
“Well, Paula, I’m speechless,” Abdul said. “Don’t know what to say.”
“Is that good or bad,” Goodspeed asked.
“It’s not a great thing,” Abdul said.
After being told she wouldn’t make it through to the Hollywood round of the competition, Goodspeed vowed to continue her dream of being a singer.
“It’s not over. I’m not going to stop singing just because you don’t like my voice,” she said.
Abdul was not home at the time of Tuesday’s incident. Her spokesperson told KTTV Fox News 11 that the judge was out Tuesday evening taping a session for the upcoming season of “American Idol.”
On Wednesday, Abdul released a statement regarding the incident to Access Hollywood.
“I am deeply shocked and saddened about what transpired yesterday,” Abdul’s statement read. “My heart and prayers go out to her family.”
Paula Goodspeed is Paula Abdul’s Fan
She was a former American Idol contestant on the show, who was found dead outside of Paula Abdul’s home on the evening of November 11th 2008, apparently from a suicide. It is unknown if she was stalking Paula or the reason for her presence.
Paula Goodspeed Biography
As a biography, she first came on the radar at American Idol because of her Austin, Texas audition for the show in 2005. See that video below. She wore an interesting pink outfit and declared herself a fan of Paula Abdul. Apparently she was not kidding.
Ms. Goodspeed reportedly has a history of mental illness which caused her family concern for her safety.
On her MySpace page profile, she describes herself as 28 years old, originally born in Jamaica. Other media sources have described her as 30 years old from Thousand Oaks, California, which is where she now resides. She also self-describes herself as a Wiccan who seems to have an affinity for the Wizard of Oz movie. This is not the same Paula Goodspeed who is a real estate agent in San Bernadino County.
During the audition, Ms. Goodspeed gave her own rendition of “Proud Mary,” which was once sung by Paula. Simon made a seering comment in his usual style about her braces that was not forgotten: “How did she get through the metal detector?”
She writes about the post-audition trauma and that specific comment in one of her blog entries:
It’s very hard reading such awful things being written about yourself…..or hearing things being said….. not like alot of people would understand what it’s like having so many haters , just because I made the mistake of trying out for a singing competition before I was even ready vocally, emotionally and physically.
I have to believe there is something good about me…..
Simon made that comment about my braces 5 months ago in Sept. 05 and now …since the show aired this month (Feb. 06), theres been soo many people bashing me for having braces, as if “I am the only person on national television that wears braces”!!!!!!
I think some people just need to grow up…or save that kind of stuff for the playground.
Soo, thats my story!! Better luck next time, I guess……
