Judge rules D.C. Madam suicide photos public

CLEARWATER –- A judge ordered Friday that crime scene photographs taken by police during their investigation of the suicide of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, also known as the D.C. Madam, are part of the public record.

But Sixth Circuit Judge Linda Allan prohibited the duplication or publication of the photos taken by Tarpon Springs police, citing a need to balance the public’s right to know with the privacy rights of Palfrey’s mother, Blanche Palfrey.

In court Friday, Mrs. Palfrey said she has had two open-heart surgeries and feared for her health should the photos be published or broadcast.

“I’m afraid it would kill me,” said Mrs. Palfrey, her voice breaking.

Her attorney, Serbo Simeoni, said the intent of the statute enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2001 in the wake of the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt was to protect family members from unnecessary harm or humiliation.

Simeoni said the statute also applied to the Palfrey crime scene photos because they were similar or identical to photos taken by the medical examiner’s office that day. Those photos were used by the medical examiner, along with the autopsy, to determine the manner and cause of death. Therefore, he argued, they were technically autopsy photos.

Allan disagreed, saying the two sets of photos were distinctly different. But Allan said she believed the interests of the public could be met by allowing the photos to be viewed and analyzed, but not released for publication.

The younger Palfrey committed suicide May 1 in a shed outside her mother's home in Tarpon Springs. Palfrey, who was 52, had been convicted two weeks earlier of racketeering and money laundering while running a prostitution service. She was facing a federal prison sentence of six to eight years.

Mrs. Palfrey said she was satisfied with the judge’s ruling.

“I don’t know what I would have done.”

- Rita Farlow, Times staff writer