Suicide OAP used weather balloon to make cops think he was murdered Death was copycat of plot from US crime show
A SUICIDAL pensioner found dead on a field used a weather balloon to stage his own “murder” – just like the plot from a famous US crime show.
Alan Abrahamson was discovered with a gunshot wound by a dog near his home in Palm Beach, Florida in January.
And after a six-month investigation, detectives have revealed they believe the 71-year-old set up his death to look like homicide so his family would receive his life insurance.
Police initially believed the keen golfer had been murdered after his body was discovered with a bullet hole in his heart.
But there was no gun, no shell casing, no signs of a struggle and his mobile phone and money clip were still close to his body.
Detectives drew a blank on a motive and suspect and began to dig deeper into Abrahamson’s life.
Internet history searches found he had ordered a helium weather balloon on Christmas Day last year and a large helium gas tank two days before his death on January 25.
Analyst searches on his phone and computer discovered that, as far back as 2009, he had been researching suicide methods and the payload of weather balloons.
As the police began researching, they found an episode from TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2003 where a man committed suicide with a gun tied to balloons to make it look like murder.
In a voice search in July last year, Abrahamson asked: “Can life assurance companies deny payment for suicide?”
Detective Bryan Broehm wrote in his report: “He tied a gun to a string and attached it to the weather balloon and once the shot was fired the weather balloon ascended carrying the weapon from the scene.’
The weapon has never been found, leading police to conclude it was carried to the Atlantic Ocean.