Paula Goodspeed brother, friend: She wasn't a Paula Abdul "stalker"

According to her brother and a friend, Paula Goodspeed, the 30-year-old Paula Abdul fanatic and former fifth-season American Idol hopeful who was found dead in her car near Abdul's Sherman Oaks, CA home on Tuesday, wasn't stalking the Idol judge.


"She was not a stalker," Charles McIntyre, Goodspeed's only brother, told E! News in a Thursday report.

McIntyre, who lives with his family in Oakland, Maine, said his sister had been a fan of Abdul's since she was a child, but denied that her fascination -- which had included legally changing her first name from Sandra to Paula and registering a "ABL LV" vanity license plate for her car, according to People -- had ever been obsessive.

"It wasn't excessive like they said on TV," he told E!.

He added that Goodspeed had moved to California five years ago with the hopes of becoming a star, and had been crushed by her failed tryout for American Idol.


"She went down there to have a career, and when she went down in front of those American Idol judges, it was over," McIntyre told E!. "She was just like anyone else, trying to make it big as an actor or singer."

However, McIntyre denied that Goodspeed had any mental problems that he was aware of and said that she had no prior run-ins with the law.

"My sister doesn't have a criminal record, she's clean as clean," he told E!. "She doesn't even have a traffic violation."

McIntyre's comments appear to conflict with the Los Angeles Police Department's previous statements about Goodspeed. "Our station has been called to respond Paula Abdul's house on multiple occasions over the last several years concerning Ms. Goodspeed," LAPD Capt. James Miller told People magazine earlier this week. "The last time our officers had contact with Goodspeed was in July."

"I can't say whether Ms. Abdul was directly harassed," Miller told People. "Ms. Goodspeed had been causing enough of a disturbance [to have police called]."


According to People, Goodspeed had also allegedly sent Abdul flowers last week.  The card read "Hope you're doing great. Here's my new cell number." and was signed "Love, J.T." -- which reportedly caused Abdul to believe they were from J.T. Torregiani, her on-again, off-again restaurateur boyfriend.

Abdul had reportedly received more than 100 letters, telephone calls and uninvited visits from Goodspeed since her 2005 Idol audition, according to a People source.

In addition to disputing media reports about his sister, McIntyre had harsh words for Abdul -- specifically in regard to how she treated Goodspeed during her Idol audition, even after learning of how big a fan she was of hers, the New York Post reported Friday.

"[Abdul] didn't speak up for her. She let everyone take her down," McIntyre told the Post.

"She [Abdul] said she was 'speechless,' when she could have said something in her defense." 


McIntyre also insisted that although the police had only initially begun looking for Goodspeed because her mother -- who had also been living in Los Angeles -- had alerted them that she had gone missing and may be suicidal, Goodspeed's death near Abdul's house may have been coincidental.

"She could have pulled over on the side of the road for a rest," McIntyre told the Post.

According to the Post, the LAPD had picked Goodspeed up for loitering in front of Abdul's house in both January and June but they hadn't filed criminal reports and had referred her case to the city's mental health authorities instead.

Brianna Schlanger, a model from Reseda, CA who met Goodspeed while taking singing lessons together, also inisists she hadn't been stalking Abdul. 

"I'm still in disbelief, waiting for her to show up at my door," Schlanger told the New York Daily News in a Friday report. "I knew she admired [Paula Abdul]. But there's no way she was stalking her or had any bad intentions."


Schlanger said that she had texted Goodspeed the night prior her death and saw no reasons to be concerned for her safety.

"She sent me a text at 10:22 the night before about meeting for a latte and movie. She ended the message with a happy face," Schlanger told the Daily News. "She seemed fine. Something must have happened after that. It needs to be further investigated."

"I'll be at your house at 5:30, and we can get a latte and go to the theater," Goodspeed's text message to Schlanger read, according to the Daily News.

Schlanger also said that she had never seen Goodspeed abuse drugs or alcohol, and added that she had been planning to wed her fiance this Valentine's Day.






About The Author: John Bracchitta