I'm just commenting to see the reactions on this one. 
I disagree. I believe she was whacked. There are many inconstancies about her demeanor. Watch this interveiw. Where there is smoke, there is fire!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=l...040508Jones.htm
Well watch this which proves she committed suicide.
http://tinyurl.com/3cmfdy
Occam's Razor people.
Steve, I feel that Jones' minions are about to descend on your blog like a plague of locusts.
That's how it goes when you question a conspiracy theory, man. It's rare you'll encounter more stiff resistance. Most comments will probably resemble Mimi's, pointing to vague inconsistencies, etc. I might even be accused of being part of the 'plot,' which would be especially amusing.
Engaging post Steve. When I first heard the news about Deborah Palfrey's death, I was suspicious. However, after more reflection, her death is most likely what it appears to be: a suicide.
If Palfrey had information that would disgrace high-profile politicians, logic states that card would have been played by now. It wasn’t. At 52, she was facing substantial jail time and, equally daunting, near destitution. For a person who relished control, that fate was not acceptable.
The method of death does not raise undue alarms in my mind, but I will admit one remaining doubt. It seems if one were to commit suicide, he or she would not do so in a location where his or her aging mother would find the body. That fact bothers me a great deal but not enough to clang the conspiracy alarm.
While I dont necessarily think that she committed suicide, I am not so quick to let her stack of #'s RIP w/ her. A US Senator and the 'AIDS Czar' where already busted as for having been clients of the Madam.
Several major media outlets had filmed interviews and checked into the #'s and released teasers about big stories to come, only to later quash them and then no longer give Palfry the time of day.
The eventual media blackout of her story probably had quite to do with her death.
Think about the media circus that the Spitzer events led to. The media loves sex stories. Why not hers?
You make a good point about her numbers, Liepar. I don't think I'll edit this post further, other than any typos I may have missed, but it is probably still worthwhile after all to look through those phone records.
A, I think JP's offing herself in a place where her mother could find her was inline with her whacked psychology. I wonder if her mother had been one of those "I told you so" types that gave JP heck about her occupation. JP's suicide would have been her last "I told you so" to her mother. Did they get along, JP and her mom?
Steve, stopping well short of disagreement with you, 3 quick things: One, is it possible that there were other names not in her phone records that could have come up? Two, that coincidence that her employee Brandy Britton purportedly hung herself http://www.examiner.com/a-
714063...ed_for_her.html and Three, you and I are both well aware the using the major media as some sort of barometer on the value or merit of any particular case is risky business at best -- a rather dodgy proposition as they say across the pond =^.)
55 years for arranging sex amongst adults? The Johns got nothing? I think she was hanged by some upper-class cowards. jmo.
kirsti good point. That does smack of sexism in the same sense that viagra is free for the asking and covered by insurance but when it comes to womens reproductive issues get yourself a wing and a prayer.
if you eat Viagra you have to call your doctor if the erection lasts more than 4 hours. Heard this on golf channel.
He-heh don't know if this case is online anywhere but in Ohio my buddy Mitch Weisman settled a case where the guy got a penis insert or something where he didn't need one because he was having no problems with one of his girlfriends so the negligence was in the operation itself: His issues were mental/emotional. Dude had a hard-on all weekend, even I would have to say enough is enough already! And enough thread jack but that was a funny story =^.)
I think Jeane herself was a conspiracy theorist. Politician's and other high profile people have survived worse than having their phone number found on a madam's list.
I think she relished the media attention and wanted to remain the victim of her own crimes. Does anyone really think that suicidal people go on radio shows announcing that they are going to off themselves? I think she wanted to portray herself as stronger than she really was, but was most likely dying inside. It's not so sad to me, more pathetic really. She created her own mess and knew damn well what the repercussions could/would be. She thought she was above it.
Trench-Every time you post that video I crack-up. So appropriate. If only he had his head wrapped in tinfoil.
Emerson, I have multiple versions unfortunately none in a tin foil hat.
She left notes:
"D.C. Madam" Deborah Jean Palfrey wrote suicide notes to her mother and sister explaining that she hanged herself because she couldn't bear the thought of a future in prison. (more at link)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0,2...,354172,00.html
Hi Steve -
I admit that I find Palfrey's death all-too-convenient for some, and the motives for suicide unconvincing. (She wasn't going to actually serve all that much time, it wasn't going to be that bad, it wasn't going to start for months at least, and she wasn't going to be destitute and friendless when she got out. She knew all these things.) I understand the point of anyone who invokes tin foil headgear. I also think it is naive to assume that government or political agents have never killed inconvenient people who had juicy information and big mouths.
I looked at the death notes on The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/
0505081palfrey1.html) and don't find them persuasive either. Main reasons: 1) Dated 4/25? She planned this out a week ahead of time? Waking up in despair and acting impulsively, maybe; planned a visit to Mom's for the purpose of hanging herself in the shed? Yikes. 2) Wrote final versions of farewell letters to family in a scrawl on a yellow pad? Did she have a history of corresponding in this sloppy manner? 3) Handwriting looks like something I could forge myself - maybe it's legit, but I'd like to see confirmation.
Also in general the scenario, if planned, seems disorganized, and I don't think that running a successful DC call-girl operation from California is consistent with a disorganized person. Hanging is, as you know, not necessarily reliable - not only might someone find you and cut you down early, but even hanging for a long time is not necessarily fatal (hanged criminals in Merrie Olde England sometimes revived on the dissection table). She could easily have hoarded sleeping pills - I'm sure she could have gotten multiple prescriptions filled between now and sentencing in July, saved 'em up and downed 'em with lots of liquor, had some fun and spent her money in the meantime. Much classier, leaves a better-looking corpse, and allows more time to plan posthumous vengeance on her tormentors.
My main objection to the murder hypothesis is, how could the perpetrator(s) not have been noticed? Surely a stranger could not have entered and left the mobile home and the shed in the middle of the morning in the middle of a mobile home park without being seen.
Well, maybe. I used an Internet phone directory to identify the address of Blanche Palfrey as 39248 US HIGHWAY 19 N, TARPON SPRINGS, FL 34689. This is the general address for Sun Valley Estates. If you enter this address into Google Maps and get the satellite view you can get a good close image of the mobile home park. (Select "Show Labels" to superimpose street names on the satellite view.)
Based on the slide show found on the WTSP-TV website from May 1 (www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?
storyid=79451) I think that the house is the one located on the north side of Cypress Avenue, at the corner of Parkway Avenue Extension - almost at the extreme NW corner of the park. The shed is behind the house.
If I am right, this is probably about the easiest part of the park for someone to get into unseen. A stockade fence shields the approach to the shed from view to the west. There is a treeline 30 or 40 feet to the north, along the border of the park. Mrs. Palfrey's home shields the shed from view to the east and south.
So here's how we do it. We take up residence in or near Mrs. Palfrey's park and we wait, knowing that sooner or later, Deborah Jeane will visit. It would be very easy, if we were so inclined, to place a listening device on (under?) the trailer. When the time is right, we take the necessary action.
And this would explain, "Why now?", which does require an explanation. If you're going to kill yourself to avoid prison, and only to avoid prison, why not wait until just before sentencing? The reason it happens now is because the longer we wait, the more opportunity she has to make and carry out her plans to divulge information; also, she's here now, in our grasp.
Now if you will excuse me, the mind rays are starting to heat up my aluminum foil deflector beanie, and I need to swap it for the spare I always keep in the freezer.
Sorry, both the link to The Smoking Gun and WTSP-TV don't seem to work when used directly. The death notes are on the front page of www.thesmokinggun.com - the "Featured Document". To get the slide show, go to www.tampabays10.com, then search under the key word "palfrey", then select the story from May 1 entitled "Police: ''D.C. Madam'' kills herself in Tarpon Springs".
JR- Did you really think those notes looked like they could have been forged? Even if we discount the obvious original penmanship we are left with details in those notes that are actually known only between mother/daughter, sister/sister. I would think if this had been a staged suicide the notes would be very bland, something along the lines of "sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I've decided this was the best way." Blah blah. These letters seem to be very consistent with someone wanting to sum up feelings and say goodbye, still concerned for details after her death. How would someone know she was leaving a "surprise" for her mom in an account? She was also specific about the DNR order, obviously worrying that she may in fact be saved and that was not what she wanted.
I think these notes should put it to rest now. Alex Jones needs a new conspiracy. This one does not have wings.
trench- Even without the tinfoil I'm still giggling.
Well, I'm not really sure what details in the note are all that intimate. Do you have some that seem to be especially private, knowable only to immediate family? Bear in mind that, in the hypothesis where she was stalked and murdered, a lot of information would be accumulated.
The DNR request, for obvious reasons, would have been of benefit to an assassin. The "will" part in general seems unnecessarily sloppy - why wouldn't she have used a lawyer for naming her executor? What with trials, book deals, upcoming incarceration and forfeitures, and so forth, she had plenty of everyday access to lawyers and ample reason to do estate planning. The information regarding a balance in a bank account could easily have been known to anyone spying on her - and again, why not in a regular will? Was she trying to cheer up her mother - "I may be hanging by my stretched neck in the sweltering shed, Mom, but that's OK - there's a nice surprise for you at the bank!" Seems unlikely. (A possibility, which we'll know soon enough if true: is there perhaps something special in a safe deposit box?)
Regarding the handwritten note, sure, it may be real. If that can be safely established, that makes the whole suicide thing more persuasive. But I'd need to know more context, and looking just at what I see, 1) I believe that with practice I could fake that adequately myself, and I'm no expert; 2) the all-caps writing and the general sloppiness of presentation for something that important, supposedly prepared several days in advance, doesn't seem right; and 3) it could have been written by DJP at someone else's direction - in which case there are probably style, phrasing, vocabulary, and letter-form variations from other things she has written, and possibly last-chance coded messages. Maybe her sister and mother think it looks perfectly fine to them, perfectly consistent with DJP's other writing habits, and they obviously would know better than I.
Take a look at the map and slide show if you have time. When I researched the location, I expected to rule out the possibility of an intruder. You can see that for nearly all the homes, there's no way someone could sneak in, do a murder, and sneak back out. Instead I found possibly the easiest mobile home to reach surreptitiously, and the shed is the least visible part of that mobile home. Scientific method: observation yielded a result that failed to disconfirm the assassination hypothesis - contrary to my expectation.
One final thought. IF someone did this, it isn't necessarily some mastermind. There are probably plenty of trained hunters out there who are capable of the technical aspects of stalking and killing surely and without detection, but not otherwise all that smart, under-supervised and with unaccountable access to money and information. Someone excessively loyal and wishing to provide deniability might have done something lame like fake a suicide without a convincing motive and fake a clumsy suicide note full of clues. Remember the embarrassingly bad Watergate burglary. Remember Henry II: "Will no-one rid me of this impudent priest?!"
JR- Check out SuziQ's link. Her mom and sister affirm that it is her handwriting. I think your questions about her actions/lack of actions go to state of mind, and by all accounts this lady was not in her right mind with or without the conviction.
My main objection to the murder hypothesis is, how could the perpetrator(s) not have been noticed? Surely a stranger could not have entered and left the mobile home and the shed in the middle of the morning in the middle of a mobile home park without being seen.
You'd be surprised at how much goes on in places such as trailer parks that isn't "noticed" by the residents, or in any residential community. I live in an apartment complex, closed-gate, the apartments are garden-style, facing each other, much closer than trailers in a trailer park.
About two years ago, a boyfriend of one my neighbors committed suicide. He & my neighbor were fighting, screaming, yelling at each other; he went out to her garage & hung himself, with the garage door open. She found him as he was strangling, and struggled to hold him up, screaming for help all the while.
It was a warm September night. Families were out, children were playing. And NO ONE answered her yells until it was far too late -- until some kids wandered by the garage and ran to get their parents.
(Before anyone asks, I came in on the tail end of it, when the cops were already there; I found out the whole story from another neighbor. The garage is clearly visible down the sidewalk from my apartment. The landlord hasn't let it be used since.)
I'm not arguing for murder or for suicide; I'm still not convinced either way. But people selectively not hearing or seeing anything is, unfortunately, all too common an occurrence.
Well, after reading everybody's comments and watching an hour of Nancy Grace, I don't understand WHY it is so hard to accept that she committed suicide...experts are saying that only 20% of women hang themselves, and how weird it is that not only did Brandy hang herself, but then so does Deborah...well, that 20% of women is made up of women just like Brandy and Deborah.
Sure, she might not have been facing that much prison time, but it sounds like she was not relishing the thought of spending even one day behind bars due to her fear of getting beat up and possibly raped.
Is it weird that she chose this method and chose to make sure that her mom found her? Maybe. But, who knows what made her mind tick.
I don't know why it is so implausible that she would kill herself...people who don't seem like the type do it every day.
People often assume that because something happens here in the nation's capital (okay, suicide was in FL, but the case was here) that it must be the stuff of intrigue. Reference: Chandra Levy. Many of us who've run those same paths always figured she was killed by a street thug, but that wasn't the sexy story, although it was the ultimate outcome. In the case of the DC Madame, 1. prostitution is not the career choice of happy, mentally-balanced people. 2.It's possible for politicos to survive a prostitution scandal (Barney Frank, Dick Morris etc., etc.) so why would anyone bother with murder?
3. Thinking people are out to get you is often a manifestation of mental illness.
4. Sitting in Mom's trailer contemplating prison time might drive any of us over the edge.
"trench- Even without the tinfoil I'm still giggling. "
I'm pretty sure I got a virus the other day, after clicking on that link. I'm not sure why, because I've seen it before, but right after I clicked, I went viral.
"4. Sitting in Mom's trailer contemplating prison time might drive any of us over the edge."
Good point.
Soobs- Really? That's wierd, it was ok on my end. That sucks!
Melanie- Thanks for the lol on point #4!
If anything, the angle about Brandi having committed suicide the same way only makes me think that that particular way was still fresh in her mind as a method. A quiet, quick, and cheap method. It also seems like a more controlled method.
I have a good friend who was suicidal and I have to say, when someone is in that mindset that she is worthless and the pain is so great that death is a relief, it's very, very hard to talk them out of it.
I read a couple of blogs by women who are in the sex trade as a result of this story and they sympathized with Palfrey's loneliness, isolation and ostracization.
My observation about conspiracy theorists is that they share a belief that everything is rotten at the core. It's a belief I don't share.
I trust Steve to stick to the crime analysis without being led astray by politics. A lot of conspiracy advocates are really just rabid opponents of whomever the alleged conspirators align with politically.
3. Thinking people are out to get you is often a manifestation of mental illness.
...except when they really are, and even then you might be mentally ill, it's just that you are mentall ill and people are out to get you.
I'm somewhat astonished the people could be so polemic over this either way.
When you are breaking the law, people ARE out to get you. They are called law enforcement. But in general they don't have people like poor, pathetic Debra Jean killed.
I also don't get the level of polemic or even interest, even on my part! Time to let Madame rest in peace.
Everybody always says that their is a twist to a story. She killed herself thats it. There is no better way to do it than behind mama's trailer. I give her this much that she did it with honor. She saved the tax payers plenty of money.
"My observation about conspiracy theorists is that they share a belief that everything is rotten at the core. It's a belief I don't share."
Well of course I don't share that belief either. However, anyone who has read history knows that politically hungry people often do very bad things. Also, "immoral" people - such as known prostitutes and drug dealers - are very easy victims to ignore. Sometimes these immoral people have been feeding the habits of the elite. Sometimes a corrupt elite wishes to portray itself as morally conventional, and a threat to that image can jeopardize its hold on power.
Looking at this death, I ask, "Who benefits?" Granted we can't know DJP's state of mind - maybe she thought it truly was her only or best solution. But I don't think that a career madam is likely to feel much shame, and objectively, it seems to me that she could have served her 3 or 4 years, published her book, did her lectures, and dined out on her stories for the rest of her life. Look at the Mayflower Madam - she is a celebrity. If Martha Stewart can handle Federal time, can't DJP? So I don't see the benefit to the victim.
But I do see the benefit to others.
Of course I'm not dogmatic about this. What happened is what happened, and the evidence is what it is. Hysterical insistence upon conspiracies is likely overblown. However, it's very easy to dismiss the death of a prostitute, which is what makes it so easy to kill them.
JR: You have to take into account the mindset of women who bill themselves as "madams". While they might try to pass themselves off as typical businesswomen, no different than a caterer, a lot of them have serious emotional/mental/behavioral/drug issues that lead them into prostitution(or resulted from it)--and actively exploiting other women--as a means of making a living. Think in terms of narcissism & borderline personality disorder & other forms of sociopathy. Her suicide was simply unexpcted, not unlikely.
Jim, true that, with the caveat that is more of North American Continent view of prostitution.
Having known a couple of madames, but not in a professional manner, I would hazard to say it is closer to the mark than most apologists are comfortable with.
She was looking at a lot longer than 3-4 years. Even with parole (was her conviction on federal charges or state??)
Regarding likely prison time. I arrived at 3-4 years by combining the US Attorney's estimate of 57-71 months (5-6 years) and DJP's expectation of time off for good behavior. Apparently she said privately, after the trial, that she was expecting 6-7 years, net. My bad. Not that I'd ever want to spend even one day in jail, but in the scheme of things, I also wouldn't kill myself over 6-7 years in minimum-security Federal prison. But it is more than 3-4 years.
From CNN (www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/01/dc.madam/
index.html; if the link doesn't work, article title is "'D.C. Madam' found hanged", May 1):
"She was found guilty of money laundering, racketeering and mail fraud and faced a maximum 55-year prison term at her sentencing, scheduled for July 24.
"Prosecutors estimated that she would have received a sentence between 57 and 71 months, about six years, because of sentencing guidelines and other factors that would have been taken into account.
"'I'm looking at 55 years in a federal penitentiary, and at my age, that is virtually a life sentence,' Palfrey told CNN Radio's Ninette Sosa in March. 'Realistically, we estimate between eight and 15 years. I'm also looking at the complete forfeiture of my entire life savings and work.'"
From Orlando Sentinel (www.orlandosentinel.com - use their seachbox to search Palfrey condominium, article entitled "D.C. madam's mystery death: The Orlando connection", May 2):
"Deborah Jeane Palfrey said she was preparing for federal prison. She hoped she'd get time off her sentence for good behavior. She thought she might buy a place in Germany one day.
...
"'It's hard to believe,' said Joseph Strizack, a condominium-association manager at Park Lake Towers who got to know Palfrey during her decade as an owner there. 'She did not seem the least bit distraught.'
...
"A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia said that under sentencing guidelines, Palfrey faced five to six years in prison. She was free until a sentencing hearing scheduled for July 24.
...
"On Monday, Palfrey arrived at her two-bedroom, two-bath corner condominium at Park Lake Towers, where she often stayed on trips to visit her mother, Strizack said. She had owned the Orlando home since 1996, but it was up for sale.
...
"She told Strizack she was taking her property to her mother's home in preparation for prison. Contrary to the U.S. Attorney's Office estimate, she told the condo manager she thought she might spend six or seven years behind bars."
She shouldn't have been charged in the first place.
If I had a man running around with a Viagra-erection ( if it lasts more then 4 hours,- go see doctor-kind)I would have sent my man promptly to the closest proff.
OR MAYBE THE NURSE COULD HAVE DONE THAT KNIPS-TRICK? Depends on what is more expencive. Whore ore nurse? Medicals are high these days.
Women who are submitted to 4 hours erections should be first in line for medical attention. Viagra eaters last. JMO.
So was she looking at 55 YEARS or 55 MONTHS? And knowing that the federal system has NO parole, she would have had to serve her entire time.
I don't believe prostitution is a "victimless" crime, as many people perceive it to be. And I am pretty sure she wasn't paying taxes on all her income, either.
This seems like the most authoritative, from the CNN article above:
"Prosecutors estimated that she would have received a sentence between 57 and 71 months, about six years, because of sentencing guidelines and other factors that would have been taken into account."
She may have believed it would be more than that.
Deborah Jeane Palfrey: ONE god person. Hunted by hate. They got her. Killed for no reason. I will remember you forever! I'm so sorry! Find peace in heaven, my friend.
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