Paula Abdul's Stalker Paula Goodspeed Found Dead

Described by her parents as “an extreme fan,” 30-year-old former American Idol contestant Paula Godspeed was found dead yesterday morning in front of the Sherman Oaks, California home of Idol judge Paula Abdul.“This individual had an infatuation with Ms. Abdul,” Capt. Jim Miller of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department told a Los Angeles-based reporter with Fox News.

Late yesterday afternoon, a reporter with TMZ snapped a photograph of the automobile in which Godspeed was found. The license plate read “ABL LV,” which could be an abbreviation of “Abdul Love.”“That’s certainly an obsessive behavior,” says Dr. Karen Abrams, an expert in women’s mental health and stalking at Toronto General Hospital. According to Dr. Abrams, an “extreme fan” may attempt something like suicide or murder in order to link themselves with a celebrity.

“It could be precipitated with the realization that they were never going to enter into a relationship,” says Dr. Abrams, who adds that sensational celebrity-related crimes have spiked in proportion to the media’s coverage of entertainer’s private lives. “If you’re lonely and mentally unstable, this kind of coverage creates a false sense of intimacy,” Dr. Abrams said.

A representative for Ms. Abdul said that Ms. Godspeed was known to Abdul and her staff. E! News reported that Godspeed had been stalking Abdul for 17 years. After twice auditioning for the program, she appeared in a 2006 episode in which she talked about being influence by Abdul.

“I make life-sized drawings of Paula,” she said. “I have since I was a little girl.” “Brace yourself, Paula, for your number one fan,” said host Ryan Seacrest before Godspeed performed a version of Ike and Tina Turner’s Proud Mary, which the judges said left them “speechless.”“That was terrible, what was that?” judge Randy Jackson said.

When Godspeed was reported missing by her parents on Tuesday night, they gave the authorities Ms. Abdul’s address as a possible lead. Like previous stalking cases involving David Letterman and Madonna, Dr. Abrams believes this may be a case of an unstable person trying to tie themselves to a star.