Police Close 'D.C. Madam' Investigation, Confirm She Died by Suicide
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police in Florida are affirming that the so-called "D.C. Madam" committed suicide, as they close their investigation of the case.
The Tarpon Springs Police Department on Thursday released a 48-page investigative report and 400 crime scene photographs, which they hope will put an end to the speculation that Deborah Palfrey was murdered.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In May, the 52-year-old hanged herself in a shed outside her mother's mobile home.
Her mother found the body. Palfrey had been convicted two weeks earlier of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington's political elite.
The report says the day before Palfrey died, she received pre-incarceration paperwork and watched videos of her deceased father.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A federal jury convicted Palfrey in April of money laundering and racketeering charges in connection to what prosecutors described as a high-end prostitution ring whose clients included members of Washington's political and social elite.
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and former deputy secretary of state Randall L. Tobias both were tied by investigators to Palfrey's business.
She was awaiting sentencing July 24 and faced a maximum of 55 years in prison, though she was expected to receive a significantly lighter sentence than that.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Palfrey repeatedly denied that the escort service engaged in prostitution, saying that if any of the women performed sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge.
Prosecutors said she ran the prostitution service for 13 years. The trial concluded without revealing many new details about the company or its clients. Vitter was among possible witnesses, but did not take the stand.
Palfrey had vowed that she would not go to prison, even telling a Washington writer that she would commit suicide first.