CSI PLOT COPIED TO MAKE SUICIDE LOOK LIKE MURDER

Florida man, 71, staged his own suicide to look like MURDER by copying CSI plot and tying a weather balloon to a gun so it would float over the Atlantic and disappear after he shot himself

By Matthew Wright

Daily Mail
July 14, 2018

Detectives in Florida were perplexed when they learned that a CSI episode may have possibly inspired a man to kill himself but make it appear like he had been murdered.

Authorities closed the case for 71-year-old Alan Jay Abrahamson, who was found dead near his BallenIsles Country Club home on January 25.

When police found Abrahamson's body a little after 7am on January 25, they discovered that his royal blue sweatshirt had a circle of blood on it where the bullet had pierced his heart.

But detectives noticed something strange - there was a thin line of blood running to his shoulder, a supplement obtained by the Palm Beach Post details.

Police reports from the day stated that surveillance-camera video showed him walking with an object in his left hand around 5.53am. At approximately 6.30am, 'the sound of an apparent single gunshot can clearly be heard'.

The investigators called the incident a murder and offered a $3,000 reward, but found that they weren't getting any tips.

And by mid-March, officials ruled the death a suicide but stated that they would not elaborate, at the time.

But as early as February 1, one detective 'theorized that it possibly was not a homicide, but possibly a suicide,' citing the shirt as an indication.

'The linear blood transfer pattern on Abrahamson's sweatshirt from the entry wound toward the upper left shoulder (was an) indication that something with the approximate width of a string passed through the blood on the outside of the shirt,' the supplement explained.

They admitted that a balloon-gun theory 'seemed far-fetched, it was plausible

Scouring the internet, they soon stumbled upon a episode of 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' from 2003 where a person tied a gun to a weather balloon in an effort to make suicide look like murder.

Then in 2008, they learned that a Red Lobster executive tried to copy the plot when he committed suicide in New Mexico.

A few days later on February 5, law enforcement returned to the shooting scene and found 'pieces of white string/twine with knots tied and some colored rubber bands' that were 40yards away from where Abrahamson's body was found.

Those same string and rubber bands were found in a drawer at Abrahamson's home.

Investigators also found a small pair of silver scissors close to where the body was found.

The detectives had identified his wife, Linda, who had been visiting her daughter in Massachusetts at the time of the suicide.

She shared with police that her husband owned several guns, prompting Abrahamson's son to show them a bag filled with three handguns and ammunition in the family's garage.

Police found that leading up to his suicide, Abrahamason took out several life insurance policies and had researched whether they would still hold in the event of a suicide. He had also deleted all his Dropbox files from his server.

Further investigation showed that dating as far back as 2009, the man used Google to search how to commit suicide by gun, hanging, drugs and poison. Abrahamson had also researched how quickly victims die from the methods, along with searches for helium balloons.

In October 2017, officers learned that Abrahamson bought a 350-gram weather balloon for $127.72 from a store in Tampa, Florida. On Christmas Day, he purchased a second one for $62.51 that was 600grams.

'Thank you for your purchase,' an email to him stated. The man responded just a few days later on January 4 and asked: 'With an 800-gram load, what will the burst altitude be? Thank you, Alan.'

Between September 27 and January 21, the balloon vendor stated that Abrahamson had sent four different emails asking questions about the logistics of the balloons.

'No family or friends (of Abrahamson) knew of any interest in weather balloons, aerial photography or weather,' the supplement read.

Abrahamson continued making purchases, including a January 23 purchase of $189.86 for a 40-cubic-foot tank of helium at Air Gas outfit in Riviera Beach.

He was said to have purchased an additional tank for $132.21 on the next day. That purchase was from NexAir, located in West Palm Beach. Both purchases were paid for with cash.

Weather conditions for the day of Abraham's death suggest that the balloon would have ascended approximately 19 miles before exploding somewhere over the north of the Bahamas. It would have landed in open water.

The open field 'was optimal for a weather balloon launch,' according to the report.

However, the balloon, gun, nor the tanks were ever recovered.

Abrahamson was described as being 'a fun guy that everybody wanted to be around.' A friend shared with police that he had dined with the man on January 23 and had had lunch with him the following day.

He added that Abrahamson even suggested that the pair meet up again on Friday night to have dinner. Friday was the 26th of January.

Linda, his wife, was distraught from the news of his death. The two had both been previously married, but Linda asserted that her husband 'took care of everything and told her she would always be taken care of.'

'Linda stated that Alan was the love of her life,' the report detailed.

The couple had traveled to Boston together but after a week on January 21, Abrahamson claimed to be tired of the cold and rushed back to West Palm Beach. He told her that he would come back on January 28.

He had allegedly shared with his wife that he wanted to lose some weight. But he also had planned a cruise for later in the year and had been taking walks with friends.

Records show that he owned a 5,000square-ft home in BallenIsles since March 2015.

For the last five years, he'd been working as a developed at a Washington state-based LED lighting company Every Watt Matters.

He also had money from a family flooring business he had had from Connecticut.

'He woke up each morning with a smile on his face and was adored by all,' his obituary said. 'Wherever Alan was, he made it "happy hour."'