Abdul fanatic found dead near star’s home

THE body of a woman obsessed with Paula Abdul has been discovered in a car parked near the Los Angeles home of the American Idol judge.

Captain Jim Miller said the death appears to be a suicide. He said the woman, who was in her 30s, had an infatuation with Abdul.

Police spokeswoman Julianne Sohn said officers responded to a call at about 6pm on Tuesday and arrived in the Sherman Oaks area to find the body.

Public records show Abdul, who is also a pop singer and choreographer, owns a home near the site where the body was found.

Abdul’s publicist Stephanie Sher said the singer was “shocked and saddened” by the death.

She said they had known about the woman for “several years” and that she was an extreme fan who “has issues”.

The cause of death may have been a drug overdose, police said.

Abdul was working on American Idol on the day and returned home late in the evening after the scene had cleared.

According to some websites, Abdul has had to call the police on several occasions to deal with the fan.

When the woman’s parents discovered she was missing they called the police department and asked that they check Abdul’s home because they knew she had an “had an unnatural obsession” with the star.

A picture of Abdul was said to have been hanging from the mirror of the car.