Deborah Jean Palfrey, the woman convicted just a couple of weeks ago for running a high-end prostitution ring that catered to senators and other D.C. power players, has committed suicide. Known as the D.C. Madam, Palfrey’s body was discovered hanging from a nylon rope in a shed on her mother’s property in Tarpon Springs, FL (20 miles NW of Tampa).
According to preliminary news reports I’ve read, the DC Madam had apparently vowed during an interview last year that she would never go to prison for “one day” on charges relating to her escort service. However, she was facing 57 to 71 months in prison after her recent conviction, and was scheduled to be sentenced on July 24, so I guess this was her way of ensuring that she stayed out of jail.
Police reportedly found a suicide note at the scene, but refused to elaborate on its contents.
This was not the first suicide associated with the DC Madam and her prostitution ring. In 2006, Brandy Britton, a former University of Maryland (Baltimore County) professor of sociology and anthropology, was arrested for prostitution charges. She, too, subsequently committed suicide (by hanging) in January of 2007 before her case went to trial.
Hmm, I can’t figure out why anyone would kill themselves over the possibility of going to prison for 57 months (less than 5 years). The articles I read hinted that humiliation might have been a factor, but come on. People would forget about her after she was locked away anyway, right? She could have started a brand new life after being released, in a place where people wouldn’t even recognize her. Suicide doesn’t make sense here….
(Image from ABC News)