"Spam King" Edward Davidson, who escaped from jail barely two months into his 21-month sentence for tax evasion and falsifying e-mail headers, was found dead on Thursday, along with his wife and young daughter, in an apparent murder-suicide.According to the United States Attorney's Office in Colorado, from 2005 to 2006, Davidson, with the help of subcontractors, sent out hundreds of thousands of unsolicited e-mail worldwide containing false header information and encouraging recipients to invest in penny stocks. For three years prior, his spamming activities involved the promotion of watches, perfume and other items. Davidson's bank deposits from 2003 to 2006 totaled $3.5 million, plus prosecutors said he stashed away $380,000 in a girlfriend's bank account and purchased $418,000 worth from a company that sells gold, platinum, palladium and silver coins.

Davidson operated his company, Power Promoters, out of his home in Bennett, Colo.

Spam costs businesses of all sizes billions of dollars each year in terms of lost productivity as well as operations and help-desk running costs, according to Ferris Research.The Denver Channel