AMERICAN IDOL - PAULA ABDUL 'SHOCKED AND SADDENED' AFTER FAN DEATH

PAULA ABDUL 'SHOCKED AND SADDENED' AFTER FAN DEATH

An obsessive fan of American Idol judge Paula Abdul has been found dead near the star's home, it has been confirmed.

The body of Paula Goodpeed, who auditioned on series five of the hit US talent show, was discovered in a parked car near Abdul's Los Angeles home.

Detective Robert Bub of the Los Angeles police department said he believed Ms Goodspeed, 30, had died of "suicide by overdose".

A statement issued by Abdul's publicist Jeff Ballard said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday.

"My heart and prayers go out to her family."

Ms Goodspeed was found in a car alongside prescription drugs, CDs and pictures of the American Idol judge.

It is believed she was infatuated with Abdul.

When she auditioned on American Idol, performing Ike and Tina Turner's Proud Mary, she told show host Ryan Seacrest she made life-sized drawings of Abdul.

Her body was found in a car with the licence plate ABL LV - a possible abbreviation of Abdul Love - after her parents called the authorities expressing concern for her whereabouts.

"Fans become a danger to themselves or others when they feel like they have a special relationship with an entertainer," said Doctor Karen Abrams, a women's mental health expert at Toronto General Hospital.

"By killing that person or killing themselves in front of them, that brings them attention and they'll always be linked with them in some way," she told the National Post.