Say Anything Blog

There hasn’t been a positive ID yet, but police are saying they think it’s her.

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - A woman police believe to be convicted Washington escort service operator Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide, officials said Thursday.

Police said the body was found in a shed near Palfrey’s mother’s home Thursday morning. There was a suicide note, but police did not disclose its contents or how she killed herself.

Police said they were trying to confirm the woman’s identity, but did not immediately have additional comment when reached by telephone. Palfrey’s attorney, Preston Burton, did not return a telephone call and e-mail message. . . .

Palfrey was convicted April 15 by a federal jury of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington’s political elite, including Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican.

She had denied her escort service engaged in prostitution, saying that if any of the women engaged in sex acts for money, they did so without her knowledge.

She was convicted of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes and racketeering. Palfrey faced a maximum of 55 years in prison and was free pending her sentencing July 24.

Palfrey was 52 years old, meaning that a 55 year prison sentence would have been a life sentence.  Of course, she probably would have gotten even less, but even so the rest of her life was going to be spent either behind bars or under the constraints of parole.

Update: Apparently one of Palfrey’s girls was found dead previous to this, which begs the conspiracy theory: Were these really suicides in light of all the rich and powerful people who patronized Palfrey’s services?