Police: Gardens man’s death likely a suicide
Alan Abrahamson, 71, was at first believed to have been murdered.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — The case of a man believed to be the victim of a homicide has been ruled a suicide, according to a statement released Wednesday by Palm Beach Gardens police.
Alan Abrahamson, 71, was found dead Jan. 25 at the intersection of PGA and Central boulevards and “initial information” led police to believe that he had been murdered, the statement said.
But further investigation, including consultations with the state attorney’s office and the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office as well as discussions with Abrahamson’s family, led police to determine his death was a suicide.
At one point, a $3,000 reward was issued for information leading to an arrest in what police said was a fatal shooting. Abrahamson’s body was found under some trees in an area of the city that is not often touched by violent crime.
Abrahamson owned a 5,000-square-foot home that he shared with his wife, Linda, in BallenIsles Country Club, the same community where 13-yearold Jovanni Sierra was fatally stabbed early Monday.
With Abrahamson’s death re-classified, the city had gone without a murder for more than six months before Jovanni was killed. Corey Johnson, 17, is facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly killing Jovanni Sierra as he slept. Johnson is also facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Abrahamson’s death was originally believed to be the first murder in Palm Beach Gardens since Aug. 27, 2017, when Melvin Jones, 39, was found shot to death on Sunset Drive.
According to an obituary that ran in The Palm Beach Post on Jan. 28, Abrahamson was born in West Hartford, Conn., and graduated from Syracuse University.
Abrahamson worked for Every Watt Matters, a provider of energy-efficient lighting systems.
“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.”’
There have been 20 homicides in Palm Beach County in 2018, according to a Palm Beach Post database.