Sex in the Suburbs: The Death of Ashley Burg

Ashley's unseemly death still baffles her friends and family. They wonder how someone who was making progress in turning her life around could have gotten caught up in such a terrible situation. An unnamed family member told the Inquirer that Tanczak must have forced Ashley into working as an escort that night because he needed some "quick cash."

Philadelphia homicide detective, Philip Riehl, told the Inquirer that this was probably Ashley's first experience with prostitution. "I know this was the first time she was doing anything with those people ... I'm confident that it was her first time working with them and that she wasn't a regular escort. It was one very bad decision that led her to what happened."

But Ashley's best friend, DeeDee Conn, can't help but blame David Downey for her friend's death. "He shouldn't have left her there," Conn told the paper. "He should have called for help."

Ashley's distraught mother added, "If he knew she was sick and upset, why didn't he call the ambulance? There were so many times he could have freaking saved her."

David Downey is currently incarcerated, awaiting trial.