Body of Former 'American Idol' Standout Found in Car Outside Paula Abdul's Home
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities have identified the body found outside "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul's house as that of a fan and one-time show contestant.
The woman, Paula Goodspeed, was found dead outside Abdul's house Tuesday evening, authorities said. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office says relatives identified her body Wednesday morning.
Click here to see photos of Paula Goodspeed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Goodspeed tried out for the fifth season of "American Idol," but the judges rejected her rendition of "Proud Mary."
While an official cause of death had not been determined, investigators ruled it was likely a suicide, possibly by a drug overdose, MyFOXLA reports.
According to "People" magazine, the vehicle, registered to Goodspeed, featured a license plate reading "ABL LV" and had a photo of Abdul hanging in the rear-view mirror.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her parents had reported her missing hours earlier and expressed concern that she might hurt herself.
Capt. Jim Miller told KTTV-TV the woman had an infatuation with Abdul.
Indeed, Goodspeed once spoke of her affection for Abdul to Ryan Seacrest: "I'm 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," People quoted Goodspeed as saying.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Host Simon Cowell reportedly noted her resemblance to Abdul, to which Goodspeed responded by calling Abdul "beautiful."
On Goodspeed's Myspace page — which had not been updated since 2007 — she blogged about her experience auditioning for "Idol."
"It's very hard reading such awful things being written about yourself," she wrote. " ... Just because I made the mistake of trying out for a singing competition before I was even ready vocally, emotionally and physically."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday," Abdul said in a statement released by her publicist. "My heart and prayers go out to her family."
Another representative told MyFOXLA that the Abdul was not home at the time of Goodspeed's death.
"American Idol" producer Fremantle Media North America declined comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said relatives hadn't seen the woman since about 11 p.m. on Monday, and were concerned she might try to hurt herself. In June, the department checked on the woman at her home in Thousand Oaks after deputies received a tip from Los Angeles police that the woman might be at risk of self-harm, Bonfiglio said.
FOXNews.com's Allison McGevna and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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