from www.theaustralian.com – JAZZIE O was reaching the end of a long career in the adult entertainment industry, but at 65 she was still popular and in high demand for her “pretty extreme” shows, according to entrepreneur and men’s club owner Maxine Fensom.

As police searched for Jazzie O’s killer, Ms Fensom described the career stripper and prostitute, whose real name was Johanna Martin, as a “really nice person”.

She said she was extremely successful with significant property interests in Melbourne, “diamonds on every finger” and a grey convertible Mercedes, which police found yesterday.

At the Southbank apartment where she lived alone with her white and tan Jack Russell terrier Suzie, the concierge said the same thing: “She was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

Ms Martin’s body was found at 3pm on Tuesday, wrapped in a blanket and dumped in bushes in the shadow of the Westgate Bridge in Port Melbourne. She was last seen leaving her apartment at 10am that day. Her hands and feet were reportedly bound, although police refused to confirm it.

Homicide squad detectives are investigating whether Ms Martin, who was also known as “Honie”, was murdered by a client. Detective Inspector John Potter said her death could have been deliberate or misadventure and could “certainly” have been sex play gone wrong.

Inspector Potter said police did not believe there was a link between Ms Martin’s murder and that of 24-year-old street prostitute Karina Ann Bell, whose body was found dumped in a lane in Caulfield South on Monday.

Ms Fensom said Jazzie O, who was booked for a show at Maxines last night, had built a loyal following at clubs and bucks nights with a show that was “pretty out there”. She charged $550 for a half-hour show and separate rates for sex afterwards.

She did “extremely well”, put her earnings into property and “owned half of Beacon Cove”, a new real estate development near where her body was found.

Ms Fenson said Jazzie O was “enthusiastic” about her work and at 65, although she was “way over her use-by date”, she still had “a great body” and was “definitely in demand”.

Inspector Potter said CCTV footage showed Ms Martin leaving her apartment with her Jack Russell about 10am on Tuesday. She left in her Mercedes E-250 convertible, wearing blue jeans and a pink top.

Her body was discovered by two workers at 3pm in Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne.

from www.smh.com.au – The death of a sex worker whose body was found wrapped in a blanket and dumped near the West Gate Bridge this week may have been caused by “sex play gone wrong”, police say.

Homicide squad detectives are investigating whether Johanna Martin, 65, known in the adult entertainment industry as “Honie” and “Jazzy O”, had gone to meet a client around the time of her death, which police say could also have been murder.

Ms Martin was captured on CCTV footage driving out of her Southbank apartment just before 10am on Tuesday with her pet Jack Russell terrier.

Five hours later her body was found wrapped in a blanket and dumped in bushes near a bus stop on Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne.

Her dog and vehicle, a 2010 grey Mercedes Tourer convertible, have not been found.

Detective Inspector John Potter said police were investigating whether Ms Martin was killed by one of her clients.

However he could not rule out the chance that she died in “sex play gone wrong”, after which her body was dumped.

Inspector Potter said police knew the cause of Ms Martin’s death, but could not release the details.

“One of the aspects of this case is we understand that she would go to certain venues in order to meet clients. We can’t discount the fact that this is exactly what’s happened here and that clearly something’s gone wrong,” he said.

“Somebody might have done something that they’ve clearly later regretted and perhaps they need to talk about it.”

Those who knew Ms Martin say she was legendary in the adult entertainment industry.

Maxine Fensom, the managing director of Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club in Brunswick, said Ms Martin worked at her venue and loved her work.

“She was extreme in what she did, but she was also a lovable woman,” Ms Fensom said.

“She is pretty legendary in the industry and loved her work. I’ve known her on and off for 20 years and she will be missed.

“She was really extreme and never backwards in coming forwards. She did anything and everything.”

Another adult entertainment venue in Melbourne hosts the Jazzy O Show, a triple-x rated show that is described as being “beyond belief” on the venue’s website.

A Melbourne escort agency describes Jazzy O as the “star of the iconic movie Aussie Good Girls Gone Bad”, and her performance as the “Most XXXXXX Rated Show in Melbourne!”

Jazzy O was wrongly named in a Channel Nine news segment in 2009 as the stripper who was hired to perform for a Prahran football team before a game.

However Channel Nine later ran a correction, saying Jazzy O was not the stripper involved.

The mistake featured on an episode of ABC’s Media Watch, along with a statement from Jazzy O’s agent, Wez Melbourne Strip Pimp Daddy.

He said at the time he had received a “large number of weirdo prank calls as a result of my web site being on nine news”.

Inspector Potter said Ms Martin, who lived alone, had stayed at home on Monday night.

Investigators are scouring her phone records, and say she did not appear to have a log of clients.

“The car is a piece of the puzzle. It could be parked in an undercover car park, it could be off the street. We’re asking people to just be a little bit vigilant [to keep an eye out for it],” Inspector Potter said.

“There’s a relatively short time frame in which she has gone missing, around about 10 in the morning to some time around three in the afternoon when her body was located in Lorimer Street.”

Inspector Potter said there was no link between Ms Martin’s death and that of another Southbank sex worker, 24-year-old Karina Ann Bell, whose body was found in a lane in Caulfield South on Monday.

An autopsy has failed to establish Ms Bell’s cause of death, however investigators said it was clear she had died elsewhere before before being dumped in the lane off Glen Huntly Road. She suffered facial injuries.

Inspector Potter said Ms Bell was a street prostitute.

“We don’t think there’s any link [between the deaths],” he said.

“In terms of the suburb that they both live in they’re quite distinct different areas and distinct modes of accommodation.”

The blonde-haired Ms Martin was of a slim build and was last seen wearing light blue jeans and a short sleeved pink top.