Police: Woman Dead Outside Abdul Home Auditioned for Idol

• Nov 12, 2008 04:22 PM ET
• by Tim Molloy

Paula Abdul

A woman who authorities said once tried out for American Idol and drew life-sized portraits of Paula Abdul was found dead outside Abdul's Los Angeles home in a case police are investigating as a possible suicide.

Abdul, who was not home when the woman was found, released a statement saying she was "deeply shocked and saddened."

The woman was identified as Paula Goodspeed, 30, on Wednesday, a day after her body was found in a car outside the house.

Goodspeed's relatives reported her missing Tuesday afternoon. Police suspect her death was a suicide, but the Los Angeles County Coroner's office has not determined an official cause of death.

LAPD Capt. James Miller told People magazine that police have come to Abdul's house "on multiple occasions over the last several years concerning Ms. Goodspeed."

"I can't say whether Ms. Abdul was directly harassed," Miller added. "Ms. Goodspeed had been causing enough of a disturbance [to have police called]."

The last time police dealt with Goodspeed was in July, he said. There were no court records of a restraining order against Goodspeed. 

Representatives for Fox and the show had no comment on Goodspeed's death and whether it might affect Idol's audition-round format.

In her tryout for the fifth season of Idol, then-27-year-old Goodspeed's warm introduction to Ryan Seacrest and the judges led only to an awkward goodbye after her almost-shouted delivery of the song "Proud Mary."

"Oh yeah, definitely, I really think I'm a pop star," she told Seacrest, later adding, "I really like Paula Abdul a lot. She's really cool."

The show also displayed her drawings of Abdul:

"I'm like a really big fan. And I make life-sized drawaings of Paula," Goodspeed said. "I've been drawing ever since I was a little kid and and my first drawing was of Paula Abdul."

At the start of her audition, judge Simon Cowell said she resembled Abdul.

"There's a similarity here. More than just the name," he said.

"I see it, definitely," added Abdul.

"I take it as a compliment," Goodspeed told Abdul. "Because you are beautiful."

But after her unsuccessful performance, Simon replied, "There is a similarity."

Abdul, who said she was "speechless" after the song, voted with Cowell and Randy Jackson to reject her.

Cowell added insult to injury, making fun of the braces on Goodspeed's teeth.

After the rejection, Goodspeed was defiant and angry.

"They can go (expletive) okay?" she said of the judges. "Because I don't even care. ... I mean I was pitchy on a couple notes. Big (expletive) deal.

"It's not over," she added. "I'm not going to stop singing just because you don't like my voice."