1 00:00:02,470 --> 00:00:05,039 ("Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who playing) 2 00:00:05,139 --> 00:00:06,674 NARRATOR: CSI: Miami, 3 00:00:06,774 --> 00:00:08,542 the global television phenomenon. 4 00:00:10,644 --> 00:00:13,881 In this series, we'll explore crime 5 00:00:13,981 --> 00:00:15,449 through an entirely new lens. 6 00:00:15,549 --> 00:00:17,451 DISPATCHER: Marlene Warren was just shot. 7 00:00:17,551 --> 00:00:21,089 NARRATOR: The investigations on this program are true. 8 00:00:21,189 --> 00:00:24,092 Ride along with the real CSI experts. 9 00:00:24,192 --> 00:00:27,295 VINCE WEINER: This was most brutal homicide in over 25 years. 10 00:00:27,395 --> 00:00:28,996 CRUX CONCEPTION: Forensic science, 11 00:00:29,097 --> 00:00:30,598 it was the key witness. 12 00:00:30,698 --> 00:00:32,400 NARRATOR: Talk to the real suspects. 13 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,202 I didn't kill anybody, dude. 14 00:00:34,302 --> 00:00:36,537 NARRATOR: Hear from the real victims. 15 00:00:36,637 --> 00:00:38,906 I couldn't believe it. I'm in a state of shock. 16 00:00:39,006 --> 00:00:41,942 NARRATOR: And ultimately, solve the case 17 00:00:42,042 --> 00:00:44,912 through the use of forensic science. 18 00:00:45,012 --> 00:00:47,248 We still have a homicide suspect somewhere out there. 19 00:00:47,348 --> 00:00:49,483 This is... WOMAN: A murderer. 20 00:00:49,583 --> 00:00:51,085 REPORTER: A disturbing story has come in... (overlapping voices) 21 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:57,758 * * 22 00:01:11,805 --> 00:01:14,742 NEWS ANCHOR: It's the question on everyone's mind in Palm Beach Gardens: 23 00:01:14,842 --> 00:01:18,612 why was a well-off businessman in his early 70s shot dead? 24 00:01:18,712 --> 00:01:20,281 NEWS ANCHOR 2: Police said the body was found near the golf course 25 00:01:20,381 --> 00:01:22,283 of the BallenIsles Country Club. 26 00:01:22,383 --> 00:01:23,783 Right now, though, that's all they've said 27 00:01:23,884 --> 00:01:25,519 about the circumstances as to what happened here. 28 00:01:25,619 --> 00:01:27,155 There's been no word on suspects. 29 00:01:27,255 --> 00:01:28,722 No arrests have been made. 30 00:01:37,164 --> 00:01:38,265 RICK MORETTI: My name's Rick Moretti. 31 00:01:38,366 --> 00:01:40,268 I'm a retired detective 32 00:01:40,368 --> 00:01:42,970 with the City of Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. 33 00:01:45,206 --> 00:01:48,142 On January 25th, 2018, 34 00:01:48,241 --> 00:01:50,277 I got notified around 7:00 35 00:01:50,378 --> 00:01:53,347 that we had a deceased individual, elderly male, 36 00:01:53,447 --> 00:01:58,085 in the middle of the field in the 5600 block of PGA Boulevard. 37 00:01:59,420 --> 00:02:01,655 I was already on my way into work at that time, 38 00:02:01,755 --> 00:02:03,391 so I head to the crime scene. 39 00:02:05,025 --> 00:02:06,960 The road patrol officer was 40 00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:09,963 already on scene at that time, keeping the crime scene secured. 41 00:02:10,062 --> 00:02:13,467 The person who discovered the body was Mr. Burgess. 42 00:02:13,567 --> 00:02:16,637 He was out walking his dog. 43 00:02:19,907 --> 00:02:22,376 He had flagged down a passing bicyclist 44 00:02:22,476 --> 00:02:24,778 and had that individual call 911. 45 00:02:26,414 --> 00:02:29,183 The guy that's over here with the white gentleman... OFFICER: Uh-huh. 46 00:02:29,283 --> 00:02:30,851 ...that's over there, talking, he found him. 47 00:02:30,951 --> 00:02:32,353 Okay. They're always... 48 00:02:32,453 --> 00:02:34,222 Did he stop you? Yeah, he stopped me. 49 00:02:34,322 --> 00:02:35,789 Okay. 'Cause he doesn't have a phone. 50 00:02:35,889 --> 00:02:37,858 Oh, okay. 51 00:02:37,958 --> 00:02:39,660 He was absolutely adamant 52 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:41,128 that the person wasn't there earlier. 53 00:02:41,228 --> 00:02:42,963 5:30, there was nobody here. 54 00:02:43,063 --> 00:02:44,465 OFFICER 2: Okay. Brought him back at 7:00, 55 00:02:44,565 --> 00:02:46,066 and that's when I found... Okay. 56 00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:47,901 MORETTI: Mr. Burgess came back out to the field 57 00:02:48,001 --> 00:02:49,703 a couple of hours later, 58 00:02:49,803 --> 00:02:51,339 and his dogs immediately alerted 59 00:02:51,439 --> 00:02:53,807 and ran toward the decedent. 60 00:02:56,610 --> 00:02:58,212 Based on Mr. Burgess's statements 61 00:02:58,312 --> 00:03:00,614 that he was there around 5:00 62 00:03:00,714 --> 00:03:02,283 and there absolutely was no body there, 63 00:03:02,383 --> 00:03:04,017 and then he went back for a second walk 64 00:03:04,117 --> 00:03:06,920 of his dogs at 7:00 a.m. and there was a body there, 65 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:08,756 now we have a two-hour window. 66 00:03:08,856 --> 00:03:11,158 Now it's our job to figure out what happened 67 00:03:11,259 --> 00:03:12,360 during that two hours. 68 00:03:12,460 --> 00:03:14,094 OFFICER: Don't go nowhere. I need names. 69 00:03:14,194 --> 00:03:15,396 OFFICER 2: Does it look like he was shot or something? 70 00:03:15,496 --> 00:03:16,864 Yeah, right in the heart. 71 00:03:16,964 --> 00:03:19,900 Ugh. Horrible. 72 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,603 Small caliber, with a little hole. Yeah. 73 00:03:23,704 --> 00:03:25,706 MORETTI: Based on the location where this occurred, 74 00:03:25,806 --> 00:03:28,242 you've got the roadway, you've got the grass, 75 00:03:28,341 --> 00:03:30,644 you've got the sidewalk, you've got the palmettos. 76 00:03:30,744 --> 00:03:33,747 Then you've got the open field, so we need to search that field, 77 00:03:33,847 --> 00:03:35,283 hands and knees. 78 00:03:35,383 --> 00:03:37,351 OFFICER: All right, Tom, you need help? 79 00:03:37,451 --> 00:03:39,853 MORETTI: We need to check the drains along PGA. 80 00:03:39,953 --> 00:03:42,456 We're checking dumpsters. 81 00:03:42,555 --> 00:03:43,957 We're checking everything that we can 82 00:03:44,057 --> 00:03:45,759 to see if we might have a clue. 83 00:03:47,795 --> 00:03:49,397 The decedent was laying 84 00:03:49,497 --> 00:03:50,898 on the ground with his head to the west. 85 00:03:50,998 --> 00:03:52,566 There was what appeared to be 86 00:03:52,666 --> 00:03:54,602 a single gunshot wound to the chest 87 00:03:54,702 --> 00:03:56,804 with pooling blood around that area. 88 00:03:56,904 --> 00:03:59,307 CONCEPTION: My name is Crux Conception, 89 00:03:59,406 --> 00:04:01,675 I am a criminologist, criminal profiler 90 00:04:01,775 --> 00:04:03,977 and retired homicide detective. 91 00:04:04,077 --> 00:04:08,749 Located at the crime scene was a cell phone... 92 00:04:14,154 --> 00:04:16,223 ...an empty binder clip... 93 00:04:21,661 --> 00:04:23,597 ...and silver scissors. 94 00:04:27,935 --> 00:04:31,038 To see a binder clip and a pair of scissors 95 00:04:31,138 --> 00:04:33,273 at a crime scene, 96 00:04:33,374 --> 00:04:34,675 it doesn't add up. 97 00:04:34,775 --> 00:04:36,844 It's a lot of question marks. 98 00:04:36,944 --> 00:04:38,646 HEIDI SIEVERS: My name is Heidi Sievers, 99 00:04:38,746 --> 00:04:41,515 and I am a forensic investigator with a law enforcement agency 100 00:04:41,615 --> 00:04:43,584 for approximately five years. 101 00:04:43,683 --> 00:04:46,587 I love being able to take what is essentially 102 00:04:46,687 --> 00:04:48,322 a mystery and a puzzle 103 00:04:48,422 --> 00:04:51,425 and find small tidbits of evidence 104 00:04:51,525 --> 00:04:52,760 and piece them all together 105 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:54,895 to come to one final conclusion. 106 00:04:54,995 --> 00:04:58,165 In this case, one thing that did catch my attention 107 00:04:58,265 --> 00:04:59,800 was the scissors. 108 00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:02,035 I would be very curious as to know if that was something 109 00:05:02,135 --> 00:05:03,737 that he normally carried with him. 110 00:05:03,837 --> 00:05:05,172 CONCEPTION: The cell phone, 111 00:05:05,272 --> 00:05:07,040 the scissors and the binder clip 112 00:05:07,140 --> 00:05:10,844 are submitted to a crime scene analysis 113 00:05:10,944 --> 00:05:14,848 for possible fingerprints or DNA collection. 114 00:05:16,450 --> 00:05:19,319 The phone is also submitted for data analysis, 115 00:05:19,420 --> 00:05:21,154 to extract digital evidence 116 00:05:21,254 --> 00:05:22,390 or digital data 117 00:05:22,490 --> 00:05:23,691 furthering the investigation. 118 00:05:25,426 --> 00:05:26,927 What we are not seeing at the crime scene 119 00:05:27,027 --> 00:05:31,064 is a gun, and we don't see any gunshot casings. 120 00:05:31,164 --> 00:05:32,866 So we have the homicide 121 00:05:32,966 --> 00:05:34,201 with no weapon. 122 00:05:36,203 --> 00:05:39,607 We got to identify who this individual is. 123 00:05:39,707 --> 00:05:41,409 The scene belongs to us, but the body belongs 124 00:05:41,509 --> 00:05:43,811 to the medical examiner till they arrive. 125 00:05:43,911 --> 00:05:45,679 The medical examiner arrives, 126 00:05:45,779 --> 00:05:48,181 and hopefully, he has identification on him. 127 00:05:48,281 --> 00:05:50,317 SIEVERS: The medical examiner's office 128 00:05:50,418 --> 00:05:53,754 was able to recover a wallet from the decedent's pocket 129 00:05:53,854 --> 00:05:55,889 and could identify him as 71-year-old 130 00:05:55,989 --> 00:05:57,991 Alan J. Abrahamson. 131 00:06:01,462 --> 00:06:04,031 GEORGE BLACKSTONE: Alan Abrahamson is my pal. 132 00:06:04,131 --> 00:06:05,866 There aren't that many people 133 00:06:05,966 --> 00:06:07,468 that you have that kind of connection with 134 00:06:07,568 --> 00:06:09,737 where you have the same sense of humor 135 00:06:09,837 --> 00:06:11,739 and you're throwing jokes back and forth, 136 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,508 laughing a lot. 137 00:06:14,608 --> 00:06:16,944 Alan was 71, 138 00:06:17,044 --> 00:06:20,347 but he had the enthusiasm and vitality 139 00:06:20,448 --> 00:06:23,250 of a 45-year-old. 140 00:06:23,350 --> 00:06:26,454 This is a guy who always had a smile on his face, 141 00:06:26,554 --> 00:06:28,956 always had a positive thing to say 142 00:06:29,056 --> 00:06:31,725 and loving life. 143 00:06:34,495 --> 00:06:37,130 When I got the call from the police department, 144 00:06:37,230 --> 00:06:42,436 they were asking if, did I know if he had any known enemies? 145 00:06:42,536 --> 00:06:45,873 I had just spoken to him, like, two days prior. 146 00:06:45,973 --> 00:06:48,742 What was the motive? Who could have possibly 147 00:06:48,842 --> 00:06:50,778 murdered this guy? 148 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:54,247 LEE TORMOS: I am an associate medical examiner 149 00:06:54,347 --> 00:06:57,618 at the Palm Beach County medical examiner office. 150 00:06:57,718 --> 00:07:00,854 When we examine the body on the outside, 151 00:07:00,954 --> 00:07:04,357 we look for any signs of struggle, 152 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:08,962 trauma, abrasions, contusions, broken fingernails. 153 00:07:09,062 --> 00:07:11,164 And from the analysis of the shirt, 154 00:07:11,264 --> 00:07:13,534 we could plainly see that there was a lot 155 00:07:13,634 --> 00:07:17,538 of gunpowder residue where the projectile had gone through. 156 00:07:18,706 --> 00:07:20,273 There was a little bit of searing 157 00:07:20,373 --> 00:07:21,975 on the fabric itself, 158 00:07:22,075 --> 00:07:27,581 and that indicates a very close, or contact, gunshot wound. 159 00:07:29,049 --> 00:07:30,484 It is probably a robbery, 160 00:07:30,584 --> 00:07:32,853 because the binder clip. 161 00:07:32,953 --> 00:07:35,656 I've personally been using a binder clip 162 00:07:35,756 --> 00:07:38,125 for my money for, for a long time. 163 00:07:38,225 --> 00:07:43,196 So with it being open like that on the ground, 164 00:07:43,296 --> 00:07:45,465 no money on his person, 165 00:07:45,566 --> 00:07:49,837 it appeared to be a robbery gone... bad. 166 00:07:49,937 --> 00:07:51,805 CONCEPTION: First theory for the investigative unit 167 00:07:51,905 --> 00:07:53,641 would be... 168 00:07:56,944 --> 00:07:59,780 Alan is walking in the early morning, 169 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:01,214 and somebody approaches him, 170 00:08:01,314 --> 00:08:03,651 and he's held at gunpoint. 171 00:08:05,185 --> 00:08:07,287 Stick him up for all that he has. 172 00:08:09,957 --> 00:08:13,293 He takes the money out of the binder clip. 173 00:08:14,294 --> 00:08:15,629 Then he's shot in the chest. 174 00:08:18,398 --> 00:08:20,067 The reason for the shooting 175 00:08:20,167 --> 00:08:21,569 would be because of resistance 176 00:08:21,669 --> 00:08:24,404 or because he identified the perpetrator, 177 00:08:24,504 --> 00:08:27,675 and flees the scene. 178 00:08:27,775 --> 00:08:30,343 Some of the questions that come to mind are, 179 00:08:30,443 --> 00:08:32,179 how would the suspect have carried out a robbery 180 00:08:32,279 --> 00:08:36,249 without being seen by bystanders right next to a busy road? 181 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:38,852 And what evidence would be surrounding 182 00:08:38,952 --> 00:08:41,655 the crime scene to coincide with that person? 183 00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:46,226 The field where the body was found was very well-maintained. 184 00:08:46,326 --> 00:08:48,862 There didn't seem to be any footprints around the body, 185 00:08:48,962 --> 00:08:50,263 very little evidence that a perpetrator 186 00:08:50,363 --> 00:08:51,932 would have been on foot. 187 00:08:52,032 --> 00:08:54,868 Despite the lack of a definitive footprint, 188 00:08:54,968 --> 00:08:56,737 that doesn't necessarily rule out 189 00:08:56,837 --> 00:08:58,872 that someone else wasn't there. 190 00:08:58,972 --> 00:09:01,141 So detectives have to look for more clues. 191 00:09:01,241 --> 00:09:04,678 At this point in time, detectives go back to the body. 192 00:09:05,713 --> 00:09:07,014 TORMOS: The gunshot entered 193 00:09:07,114 --> 00:09:09,249 the left side of the chest. 194 00:09:09,349 --> 00:09:10,784 It went through the lung, 195 00:09:10,884 --> 00:09:13,186 it went through the heart, 196 00:09:13,286 --> 00:09:15,022 and the bullet lodged under the skin 197 00:09:15,122 --> 00:09:16,957 on the right side of the back. 198 00:09:17,057 --> 00:09:21,528 We recovered a deformed mushroom projectile 199 00:09:21,629 --> 00:09:24,564 from the subcutaneous tissues on the right side of the back. 200 00:09:24,665 --> 00:09:28,568 It was a full copper projectile, which is very unusual. 201 00:09:28,669 --> 00:09:31,204 MORETTI: It's a very rare type of bullet. 202 00:09:31,304 --> 00:09:32,906 You have to special-order it. 203 00:09:33,006 --> 00:09:34,775 It's just one you can't buy off the shelves 204 00:09:34,875 --> 00:09:36,443 at a... at a gun store. 205 00:09:36,543 --> 00:09:38,245 CONCEPTION: Hollow-point is more dangerous. 206 00:09:38,345 --> 00:09:40,681 That's a law enforcement, uh, 207 00:09:40,781 --> 00:09:42,683 type issue projectile. 208 00:09:42,783 --> 00:09:44,151 We use hollow-points. 209 00:09:44,251 --> 00:09:46,153 A regular projectile, the kind that you use 210 00:09:46,253 --> 00:09:48,255 for target practice, can go through anything. 211 00:09:48,355 --> 00:09:49,522 You can shoot me, and it can go 212 00:09:49,623 --> 00:09:51,659 through the wall and hit somebody else. 213 00:09:51,759 --> 00:09:53,794 Hollow-points are made to stop inside. 214 00:09:53,894 --> 00:09:57,330 Once they hit that human flesh, they're made to stop and expand. 215 00:09:57,430 --> 00:10:00,768 TORMOS: He did not have any signs 216 00:10:00,868 --> 00:10:02,602 that he tried to defend himself in any way. 217 00:10:02,703 --> 00:10:05,673 No wounds at all in his body other than 218 00:10:05,773 --> 00:10:07,574 the gunshot wound. 219 00:10:07,675 --> 00:10:09,810 Cause of death: gunshot wound to chest, 220 00:10:09,910 --> 00:10:12,179 manner of death: homicide. 221 00:10:12,279 --> 00:10:14,547 Pretty routine for a forensic pathologist. 222 00:10:16,549 --> 00:10:17,651 MORETTI: There's no signs of a struggle. 223 00:10:17,751 --> 00:10:21,088 That doesn't mean nothing didn't happen. 224 00:10:21,188 --> 00:10:22,990 It just means there was no struggle. 225 00:10:23,090 --> 00:10:26,927 We have a gunshot-deceased victim. 226 00:10:27,027 --> 00:10:28,796 We have no weapon at the scene, 227 00:10:28,896 --> 00:10:31,231 no casing being found at the scene. 228 00:10:32,766 --> 00:10:35,235 So we're still back at square one. 229 00:10:44,845 --> 00:10:47,214 MORETTI: We have what appears to be a homicide 230 00:10:47,314 --> 00:10:48,782 with no weapon at the scene. 231 00:10:48,882 --> 00:10:51,551 It's basically an "all hands on deck" because 232 00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:53,553 the first moments are critical. 233 00:10:53,653 --> 00:10:55,288 You got a lot of search warrants that need to be written. 234 00:10:55,388 --> 00:10:57,090 You have subpoenas that have to be written. 235 00:10:57,190 --> 00:10:58,826 And we still have the evidence at the scene 236 00:10:58,926 --> 00:11:00,060 that we have to examine. 237 00:11:01,161 --> 00:11:03,931 But we have the driver's license that matched the victim, 238 00:11:04,031 --> 00:11:06,834 and he did reside within BallenIsles, 239 00:11:06,934 --> 00:11:09,302 which is the community adjacent to the field. 240 00:11:09,402 --> 00:11:10,570 Right now, we're approaching 241 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:11,839 the community of BallenIsles. 242 00:11:13,673 --> 00:11:15,275 And this is the PGA Boulevard entrance, 243 00:11:15,375 --> 00:11:18,879 which is a little bit east of the turnpike off PGA. 244 00:11:18,979 --> 00:11:22,282 The community of BallenIsles is a high-end, gated community. 245 00:11:22,382 --> 00:11:24,818 Golf courses, tennis courts, 246 00:11:24,918 --> 00:11:27,054 clubhouse, restaurant, the whole nine. 247 00:11:27,154 --> 00:11:29,256 Very nice community, very high-end. 248 00:11:29,356 --> 00:11:31,324 There's a couple entrances in. 249 00:11:31,424 --> 00:11:33,260 They've got a guard shack at each entrance, 250 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:34,962 and they have their own security. 251 00:11:35,062 --> 00:11:36,897 So we put in a request in with the director of security 252 00:11:36,997 --> 00:11:39,299 from BallenIsles to obtain all surveillance footage 253 00:11:39,399 --> 00:11:42,770 on Thursday, January 25, 2018, 254 00:11:42,870 --> 00:11:44,872 from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. 255 00:11:44,972 --> 00:11:46,139 We've got that two-hour window. 256 00:11:49,209 --> 00:11:52,612 At 5:53 in the morning, there is video surveillance 257 00:11:52,712 --> 00:11:56,049 of Mr. Abrahamson exiting BallenIsles. 258 00:11:56,149 --> 00:11:58,618 There is a sidewalk, but then there's also a guard arm 259 00:11:58,718 --> 00:11:59,987 where the cars would go. 260 00:12:00,087 --> 00:12:01,855 But Mr. Abrahamson deviated 261 00:12:01,955 --> 00:12:05,192 from the sidewalk, walked into camera view, 262 00:12:05,292 --> 00:12:07,060 walked around the guard arm. 263 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,296 CONCEPTION: You can see the victim 264 00:12:09,396 --> 00:12:11,631 walking out of the gated community, 265 00:12:11,731 --> 00:12:14,267 and looks like he has something in his left hand. 266 00:12:14,367 --> 00:12:16,203 MORETTI: He's carrying what appears to be a manila folder, 267 00:12:16,303 --> 00:12:17,437 or something like that. 268 00:12:17,537 --> 00:12:18,638 Can't make it out what it is. 269 00:12:18,738 --> 00:12:20,507 CONCEPTION: That's odd because 270 00:12:20,607 --> 00:12:22,776 it doesn't seem to match anything that was 271 00:12:22,876 --> 00:12:24,444 identified at the crime scene. 272 00:12:26,113 --> 00:12:28,681 And... we lose sight of him. 273 00:12:28,782 --> 00:12:31,151 MORETTI: And then we're listening to the videos. 274 00:12:31,251 --> 00:12:33,686 We're listening for screams, 275 00:12:33,787 --> 00:12:36,156 tires screeching, strange voices. 276 00:12:36,256 --> 00:12:37,825 Anything that would be indicative 277 00:12:37,925 --> 00:12:40,828 of what happened to Mr. Abrahamson at that scene. 278 00:12:42,329 --> 00:12:47,234 And we hear nothing... until around 6:30. 279 00:12:50,137 --> 00:12:51,504 (gunshot) 280 00:12:51,604 --> 00:12:55,108 Where we clearly can hear an audible gunshot. 281 00:12:55,208 --> 00:12:58,111 We've got 37 minutes of unaccounted-for time. 282 00:12:58,211 --> 00:13:00,113 CONCEPTION: What happened in the time gap? 283 00:13:00,213 --> 00:13:01,514 What was going on? 284 00:13:06,553 --> 00:13:10,891 I personally walked from the guard arm 285 00:13:10,991 --> 00:13:13,493 to the location where he was found. 286 00:13:15,362 --> 00:13:18,999 And it took me four minutes and three seconds 287 00:13:19,099 --> 00:13:21,534 walking a normal pace. 288 00:13:21,634 --> 00:13:23,536 Not rushing, not large strides. 289 00:13:23,636 --> 00:13:24,972 I'm not very tall. 290 00:13:27,207 --> 00:13:28,241 We need to find out 291 00:13:28,341 --> 00:13:31,144 what happened during that 37-minute gap. 292 00:13:32,545 --> 00:13:35,015 Who was in that area at that time? 293 00:13:35,115 --> 00:13:37,617 Did anybody see anything unusual? 294 00:13:37,717 --> 00:13:40,320 We need to check any suspicious persons reports in the area. 295 00:13:41,955 --> 00:13:44,091 We're checking any witnesses. 296 00:13:44,191 --> 00:13:45,325 OFFICER: Do you take this path all the time? 297 00:13:45,425 --> 00:13:46,459 No, this is my first time. 298 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,095 I'm going to an eye doctor appointment. 299 00:13:48,195 --> 00:13:49,596 I was on the sidewalk, 300 00:13:49,696 --> 00:13:51,932 but I heard and thought I saw people further back. 301 00:13:52,032 --> 00:13:53,333 But nothing, really, 302 00:13:53,433 --> 00:13:55,135 that led us to anywhere. 303 00:13:55,235 --> 00:13:58,771 So we need to find out a little bit more about the individual. 304 00:14:02,542 --> 00:14:04,677 When you have a victim with a name, 305 00:14:04,777 --> 00:14:07,347 you have a history, you have family members, 306 00:14:07,447 --> 00:14:10,951 you have friends, and now you have victimology. 307 00:14:11,051 --> 00:14:15,288 And victimology is the start of any homicide investigation. 308 00:14:16,389 --> 00:14:19,126 A victimology would entail finding out anything 309 00:14:19,226 --> 00:14:21,128 you can about the victim. 310 00:14:21,228 --> 00:14:24,131 Where they come from, if they had a criminal history. 311 00:14:24,231 --> 00:14:26,799 Anything that can lead to information pertaining to 312 00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:28,068 potential associates 313 00:14:28,168 --> 00:14:30,904 who can give more information. 314 00:14:31,004 --> 00:14:32,940 MORETTI: Did Alan have any children? Is he married? 315 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:34,607 Was this his second marriage? Third marriage? 316 00:14:34,707 --> 00:14:37,677 CONCEPTION: You have to really get into who a person was 317 00:14:37,777 --> 00:14:40,280 in case they had a hidden life, 318 00:14:40,380 --> 00:14:43,083 something that wasn't obvious on the surface. 319 00:14:44,417 --> 00:14:46,786 SIEVERS: A number of Alan's friends were interviewed 320 00:14:46,886 --> 00:14:48,021 in hopes that they would be able 321 00:14:48,121 --> 00:14:51,058 to provide some type of supplemental information 322 00:14:51,158 --> 00:14:52,659 for the investigation. 323 00:14:52,759 --> 00:14:54,327 Victor, how you doing? 324 00:14:54,427 --> 00:14:56,429 Good to see you. 325 00:15:13,813 --> 00:15:15,215 Okay. 326 00:15:28,328 --> 00:15:31,864 We learned that he had a tee time scheduled later that day. 327 00:15:45,612 --> 00:15:46,946 Sure. 328 00:16:06,199 --> 00:16:09,169 He had dinner plans the following day, all set. 329 00:16:19,546 --> 00:16:21,581 Yep. Yeah. 330 00:16:29,622 --> 00:16:31,858 Happy, life of the party. 331 00:16:31,958 --> 00:16:33,993 You know, center of the attention. 332 00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:01,988 Sure. 333 00:17:02,089 --> 00:17:04,022 From all accounts, a devoted husband, 334 00:17:04,124 --> 00:17:05,958 had three stepchildren. 335 00:17:06,059 --> 00:17:08,127 And he also had a prior marriage, 336 00:17:08,228 --> 00:17:10,329 which he had two biological children. 337 00:17:10,430 --> 00:17:12,765 Loved his children, loved his grandchildren. 338 00:17:16,935 --> 00:17:18,971 Who would want to kill this individual? 339 00:17:20,073 --> 00:17:22,442 Who would want to take this man's life? 340 00:17:24,577 --> 00:17:26,313 MORETTI: Through the course of the investigation, we're gonna 341 00:17:26,413 --> 00:17:29,249 subpoena or get search warrants for his bank records, 342 00:17:29,349 --> 00:17:30,783 financial records. 343 00:17:30,883 --> 00:17:32,018 Trying to get copies of will, 344 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:33,586 any medical records, or anything like that. 345 00:17:34,721 --> 00:17:39,192 We learned that from the beginning of 2017, 346 00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:44,097 Mr. Abrahamson depleted his retirement savings account 347 00:17:44,197 --> 00:17:47,700 to the tune of just under $300,000. 348 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,002 They were different withdrawals, different amount: 349 00:17:50,103 --> 00:17:50,970 30,000, 350 00:17:51,070 --> 00:17:53,340 40,000, 25,000. 351 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:54,741 In addition, we learned 352 00:17:54,841 --> 00:17:58,044 that he did have a high-dollar life insurance policy. 353 00:17:58,145 --> 00:18:01,981 SIEVERS: So in a case where you have a decedent that has a large sum 354 00:18:02,081 --> 00:18:04,016 of money in a life insurance policy, 355 00:18:04,117 --> 00:18:05,185 we as investigators 356 00:18:05,285 --> 00:18:07,086 always want to take a look at 357 00:18:07,187 --> 00:18:08,821 who that beneficiary would be. 358 00:18:10,457 --> 00:18:11,658 We need to follow the money. 359 00:18:13,526 --> 00:18:16,062 So who would gain the most from his passing? 360 00:18:32,212 --> 00:18:34,681 When you see a life insurance policy that large, 361 00:18:34,781 --> 00:18:38,017 family members are usually the beneficiary, 362 00:18:38,117 --> 00:18:41,688 and that becomes the key focus of the investigation. 363 00:18:41,788 --> 00:18:43,356 We don't have anybody at this point, 364 00:18:43,456 --> 00:18:45,024 so we need to talk to everybody. 365 00:18:46,393 --> 00:18:48,761 Anybody is basically going to be a person of interest 366 00:18:48,861 --> 00:18:49,896 until we can eliminate them. 367 00:18:56,436 --> 00:18:59,071 MORETTI: Rachel Abrahamson, Alan's biological daughter 368 00:18:59,172 --> 00:19:00,407 of his first marriage, 369 00:19:00,507 --> 00:19:02,242 came down to the police department. We sat down 370 00:19:02,342 --> 00:19:04,076 and had a formal interview. 371 00:19:10,417 --> 00:19:12,452 According to Rachel, her relationship with her father 372 00:19:12,552 --> 00:19:14,787 was estranged for several years. 373 00:19:34,841 --> 00:19:36,643 MORETTI: After speaking with Rachel, 374 00:19:36,743 --> 00:19:38,611 she has a different version of her father 375 00:19:38,711 --> 00:19:41,448 than the people that he's been around 376 00:19:41,548 --> 00:19:43,015 daily for the last ten years. 377 00:19:43,115 --> 00:19:46,219 By her own admission, she's had minimal contact with him. 378 00:20:01,234 --> 00:20:03,803 Investigators also interview Alan's biological son, Daniel. 379 00:20:06,273 --> 00:20:09,609 Okay. (clears throat) 380 00:20:16,649 --> 00:20:18,418 Daniel and Alan's relationship 381 00:20:18,518 --> 00:20:20,853 was superficial and surface-level. 382 00:20:30,797 --> 00:20:33,165 One thing that Daniel did bring up 383 00:20:33,266 --> 00:20:35,568 to investigators is the question of who has to gain 384 00:20:35,668 --> 00:20:37,203 from Alan's passing? 385 00:21:02,495 --> 00:21:05,798 As a homicide detective, it's always important to look 386 00:21:05,898 --> 00:21:08,801 at the spouse because they're the closest to them. 387 00:21:08,901 --> 00:21:10,403 They know their habits. 388 00:21:10,503 --> 00:21:12,038 MORETTI: You know, we're looking at with kid gloves 389 00:21:12,138 --> 00:21:13,473 because she had just lost her husband. 390 00:21:13,573 --> 00:21:15,408 So you've got to be respectful in every way. 391 00:21:15,508 --> 00:21:18,378 During the interview with Alan's current wife Linda, 392 00:21:18,478 --> 00:21:21,213 it is discovered that Alan just came back from Boston, 393 00:21:21,314 --> 00:21:23,550 where he has stepchildren with Linda, 394 00:21:23,650 --> 00:21:25,818 and her daughter was having a child. 395 00:21:25,918 --> 00:21:27,887 So the wife went up there to help her daughter, 396 00:21:27,987 --> 00:21:29,556 and Mr. Abrahamson went with her. 397 00:21:29,656 --> 00:21:33,526 After about a week of being up there in Boston, 398 00:21:33,626 --> 00:21:35,895 it was cold, he was bored. 399 00:21:35,995 --> 00:21:37,630 He had, you know, things to do down here. 400 00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:39,399 CONCEPTION: It's unusual 401 00:21:39,499 --> 00:21:41,468 that he left his wife in Boston 402 00:21:41,568 --> 00:21:43,202 and was killed when he got home. 403 00:21:43,302 --> 00:21:45,938 Maybe there was something involving his family. 404 00:21:46,038 --> 00:21:47,440 Somebody knew that he was 405 00:21:47,540 --> 00:21:48,641 coming back to Palm Beach Gardens. 406 00:21:48,741 --> 00:21:51,043 Maybe he was set up, 407 00:21:51,143 --> 00:21:52,679 possibly murder for hire. 408 00:21:57,750 --> 00:22:01,588 SIEVERS: If the murder-for-hire theory were to play out, 409 00:22:01,688 --> 00:22:03,990 somebody would have been waiting for him. 410 00:22:04,090 --> 00:22:06,359 He then would have been shot. 411 00:22:06,459 --> 00:22:08,961 And then, to make it seem like a robbery, 412 00:22:09,061 --> 00:22:11,163 the money would have been taken out of the money clip. 413 00:22:13,299 --> 00:22:15,802 MORETTI: Anybody close to Mr. Abrahamson 414 00:22:15,902 --> 00:22:17,704 is a person of interest. 415 00:22:17,804 --> 00:22:20,339 But we can never establish any type of motive 416 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:21,374 with the friends and family 417 00:22:21,474 --> 00:22:22,642 that would want to do harm 418 00:22:22,742 --> 00:22:23,943 to Mr. Abrahamson. 419 00:22:24,043 --> 00:22:25,878 So we need to follow the evidence 420 00:22:25,978 --> 00:22:28,347 to figure out what caused his death. 421 00:22:29,949 --> 00:22:32,719 CONCEPTION: The analysis comes back 422 00:22:32,819 --> 00:22:34,186 from the items collected. 423 00:22:34,286 --> 00:22:36,022 TORMOS: And there was no evidence of 424 00:22:36,122 --> 00:22:38,257 any other DNA, 425 00:22:38,357 --> 00:22:39,926 uh, from another individual. 426 00:22:42,094 --> 00:22:44,363 CONCEPTION: No third-party prints 427 00:22:44,464 --> 00:22:45,632 or DNA from 428 00:22:45,732 --> 00:22:47,867 the cell phone, from the scissors 429 00:22:47,967 --> 00:22:50,603 or the binder clip. 430 00:22:50,703 --> 00:22:53,506 We don't have a suspect in this case. 431 00:22:55,107 --> 00:22:57,276 We've still got a lot of work to do. 432 00:22:58,377 --> 00:23:01,448 SIEVERS: I'm a certified bloodstain pattern analyst, 433 00:23:01,548 --> 00:23:03,215 and I have been 434 00:23:03,315 --> 00:23:05,485 studying and analyzing bloodstains 435 00:23:05,585 --> 00:23:07,520 for the past eight years. 436 00:23:09,689 --> 00:23:11,390 Upon reviewing 437 00:23:11,491 --> 00:23:14,494 these crime scene photographs, the first thing that 438 00:23:14,594 --> 00:23:16,729 initially stuck out to me was a very unique 439 00:23:16,829 --> 00:23:18,931 linear pattern on 440 00:23:19,031 --> 00:23:21,701 the exterior of Alan's sweatshirt. 441 00:23:21,801 --> 00:23:24,737 TORMOS: There is a very thin line 442 00:23:24,837 --> 00:23:27,406 towards the shoulder area of the shirt. 443 00:23:27,507 --> 00:23:30,610 There is a limited amount of blood 444 00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:32,679 where the projectile had gone through the shirt. 445 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,015 As he is laying on his back, 446 00:23:36,115 --> 00:23:37,249 and there's no exit wound 447 00:23:37,349 --> 00:23:39,919 to the back, he is not bleeding a lot 448 00:23:40,019 --> 00:23:41,420 out of the chest wound 449 00:23:41,521 --> 00:23:43,155 because it's against gravity. 450 00:23:43,255 --> 00:23:45,592 He would not bleed upward. 451 00:23:45,692 --> 00:23:47,694 SIEVERS: So, what makes this pattern unique 452 00:23:47,794 --> 00:23:49,829 is it suggests 453 00:23:49,929 --> 00:23:52,331 that something bearing blood 454 00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:56,703 came in contact and moved across the top of the sweatshirt. 455 00:23:56,803 --> 00:24:00,172 So the blood from the wound site on his chest 456 00:24:00,272 --> 00:24:03,442 did not saturate through to the top of that 457 00:24:03,543 --> 00:24:06,579 sweatshirt. It was another intermediate item 458 00:24:06,679 --> 00:24:11,383 bearing blood that was transferred on top of the shirt. 459 00:24:11,484 --> 00:24:15,488 What could have created a transfer and swipe pattern 460 00:24:15,588 --> 00:24:17,423 across this piece of clothing? 461 00:24:17,524 --> 00:24:19,125 MORETTI: We did not know. 462 00:24:19,225 --> 00:24:21,961 But when you work a case, you got to go where 463 00:24:22,061 --> 00:24:23,896 the evidence takes you. 464 00:24:25,197 --> 00:24:27,466 It was extremely lucky that 465 00:24:27,567 --> 00:24:29,035 his cell phone was next to him. 466 00:24:30,169 --> 00:24:31,604 I'm the senior crime analyst 467 00:24:31,704 --> 00:24:34,607 for the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. 468 00:24:35,942 --> 00:24:38,711 An extraction on a cell phone can pull basic information. 469 00:24:38,811 --> 00:24:41,614 Call logs, text messages, 470 00:24:41,714 --> 00:24:45,618 emails, things that are saved to the phone. 471 00:24:45,718 --> 00:24:46,953 You can learn almost anything about a person 472 00:24:47,053 --> 00:24:48,454 once you can get their cell phone. 473 00:24:48,555 --> 00:24:50,089 SIEVERS: They are, essentially, 474 00:24:50,189 --> 00:24:51,724 digging into your digital footprint: 475 00:24:51,824 --> 00:24:55,662 what you search, what you visit 476 00:24:55,762 --> 00:24:58,064 and any type of activity from your electronic devices, 477 00:24:58,164 --> 00:24:59,165 so it can really provide 478 00:24:59,265 --> 00:25:01,067 information to investigators. 479 00:25:03,670 --> 00:25:05,805 Once the extraction was completed, 480 00:25:05,905 --> 00:25:07,774 I started manually going through it. 481 00:25:07,874 --> 00:25:12,111 The first thing I went to was Maps. 482 00:25:12,211 --> 00:25:13,780 The user has the options turned on to 483 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,648 track their location. 484 00:25:15,748 --> 00:25:17,784 It provides a nice timeline 485 00:25:17,884 --> 00:25:18,785 with a map and locations of 486 00:25:18,885 --> 00:25:21,688 everywhere that person's been. 487 00:25:23,489 --> 00:25:25,057 MORETTI: Crime analyst Machado 488 00:25:25,157 --> 00:25:26,959 gave us his movements from the time he 489 00:25:27,059 --> 00:25:28,861 arrived back in Palm Beach County 490 00:25:28,961 --> 00:25:31,230 until the time that he was found deceased 491 00:25:31,330 --> 00:25:33,866 on the morning of the 25th. 492 00:25:36,168 --> 00:25:38,571 It provided us with a lot of information 493 00:25:38,671 --> 00:25:39,806 throughout that week, 494 00:25:39,906 --> 00:25:41,173 different places that Alan went 495 00:25:41,273 --> 00:25:43,643 where detectives could go follow up for 496 00:25:43,743 --> 00:25:45,377 any surveillance video, 497 00:25:45,477 --> 00:25:47,479 receipts from anything he bought 498 00:25:47,580 --> 00:25:49,882 to try and figure out what he was doing during that week. 499 00:25:49,982 --> 00:25:52,619 MORETTI: We've got him going to Starbucks. 500 00:25:52,719 --> 00:25:55,688 We've got him going to a car repair place. 501 00:25:55,788 --> 00:25:58,357 He's going to withdraw money. 502 00:25:58,457 --> 00:25:59,692 We've got him going to 503 00:25:59,792 --> 00:26:01,861 a couple other locations 504 00:26:01,961 --> 00:26:04,430 that made no sense to us. 505 00:26:05,632 --> 00:26:07,566 MACHADO: Mr. Abrahamson's timeline 506 00:26:07,667 --> 00:26:09,168 indicated that he went to 507 00:26:09,268 --> 00:26:11,938 a couple of different gas suppliers. 508 00:26:12,038 --> 00:26:14,874 MORETTI: They sell propane, helium, 509 00:26:14,974 --> 00:26:19,011 CO2, things of that nature. 510 00:26:19,111 --> 00:26:21,714 From the cyber forensic analysis report, 511 00:26:21,814 --> 00:26:24,550 investigators were also able to determine that 512 00:26:24,651 --> 00:26:27,553 Alan visited the site of his death 513 00:26:27,654 --> 00:26:29,856 for an hour the night before, 514 00:26:29,956 --> 00:26:32,124 approximately 12 hours before his death, 515 00:26:32,224 --> 00:26:34,193 from the hours of 6:30 to 7:30. 516 00:26:35,161 --> 00:26:36,428 MACHADO: It wasn't somewhere 517 00:26:36,528 --> 00:26:38,364 that he hung out regularly. 518 00:26:39,699 --> 00:26:41,033 MORETTI: What was he doing 519 00:26:41,133 --> 00:26:42,902 for one hour the night before 520 00:26:43,002 --> 00:26:44,103 in the exact location 521 00:26:44,203 --> 00:26:45,872 where he would be found dead 522 00:26:45,972 --> 00:26:47,039 the next morning? 523 00:26:53,780 --> 00:26:55,815 * * 524 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,254 CONCEPTION: On Wednesday evening, 525 00:27:02,354 --> 00:27:03,656 Mr. Abrahamson appeared to be 526 00:27:03,756 --> 00:27:05,157 in the exact location 527 00:27:05,257 --> 00:27:07,259 where he was found dead 12 hours later. 528 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,329 And he is in that field for over an hour. 529 00:27:11,430 --> 00:27:12,531 As far as anyone knew, 530 00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:14,300 he wasn't a regular in that field, 531 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:15,434 so it was just odd. 532 00:27:16,969 --> 00:27:19,872 MACHADO: After the Google Maps timeline, 533 00:27:19,972 --> 00:27:21,507 I went through his Gmail 534 00:27:21,607 --> 00:27:23,475 and I found an order for 535 00:27:23,575 --> 00:27:24,911 a weather balloon 536 00:27:25,011 --> 00:27:26,478 placed on Christmas Day. 537 00:27:27,579 --> 00:27:29,415 Weather balloons are very large balloons 538 00:27:29,515 --> 00:27:32,651 that can carry items 539 00:27:32,752 --> 00:27:34,687 up to very high altitudes to be used 540 00:27:34,787 --> 00:27:36,889 by people who want to take 541 00:27:36,989 --> 00:27:39,425 aerial live-action photography. 542 00:27:39,525 --> 00:27:42,361 We didn't know why he would have any interest 543 00:27:42,461 --> 00:27:44,797 or need to use a weather balloon. 544 00:27:45,898 --> 00:27:48,801 That in itself normally wouldn't be an indicator 545 00:27:48,901 --> 00:27:50,502 of anything suspicious. 546 00:27:50,602 --> 00:27:52,972 But in this case, when we have nothing, 547 00:27:53,072 --> 00:27:54,340 we're going to follow this weather balloon 548 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:56,108 and see where it takes us. 549 00:27:57,243 --> 00:28:00,179 I found a second order for another weather balloon. 550 00:28:00,279 --> 00:28:01,647 So he had ordered 551 00:28:01,748 --> 00:28:03,716 two weather balloons within a few months. 552 00:28:03,816 --> 00:28:05,151 It was discovered that 553 00:28:05,251 --> 00:28:08,420 he did purchase two helium tanks. 554 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,158 He paid for them with cash. We got the receipts for that. 555 00:28:12,258 --> 00:28:14,493 So, now we have weather balloons 556 00:28:14,593 --> 00:28:16,328 and gas tanks. 557 00:28:17,296 --> 00:28:19,431 WOMAN: Ready? 558 00:28:19,531 --> 00:28:22,201 MORETTI: So, we do a search of his house. 559 00:28:22,301 --> 00:28:25,137 In the garage, we find an empty box 560 00:28:25,237 --> 00:28:28,374 from High Altitude Science from the weather balloon. 561 00:28:28,474 --> 00:28:30,376 His wife had no idea that he'd even purchased that. 562 00:28:32,144 --> 00:28:34,646 MACHADO: He had emails with 563 00:28:34,747 --> 00:28:37,216 the place where he purchased the weather balloons 564 00:28:37,316 --> 00:28:40,052 and he was asking very specific questions 565 00:28:40,152 --> 00:28:41,954 that were very odd. 566 00:28:42,054 --> 00:28:44,556 He wanted to know burst altitude, 567 00:28:44,656 --> 00:28:46,826 he wanted to know how much helium 568 00:28:46,926 --> 00:28:49,128 he could fit in a certain size balloon. 569 00:28:49,228 --> 00:28:50,596 He wanted to know 570 00:28:50,696 --> 00:28:54,033 how much of a payload the balloon could carry 571 00:28:54,133 --> 00:28:55,734 and how much helium it could hold. 572 00:28:58,170 --> 00:28:59,939 We have weather balloons, 573 00:29:00,039 --> 00:29:02,108 we have emails, 574 00:29:02,208 --> 00:29:04,811 we have interviews with family, we have interviews 575 00:29:04,911 --> 00:29:06,578 with associates, friends. 576 00:29:06,678 --> 00:29:08,147 We've been out on PGA Boulevard 577 00:29:08,247 --> 00:29:09,949 talking to drivers coming by. 578 00:29:10,049 --> 00:29:11,650 We've been out to the scene, 579 00:29:11,750 --> 00:29:14,286 we've crawled the scene looking for casings, 580 00:29:14,386 --> 00:29:16,255 and we have nothing. 581 00:29:18,557 --> 00:29:20,292 BLACKSTONE: Everybody was shocked 582 00:29:20,392 --> 00:29:22,995 that they had not a hint. 583 00:29:23,095 --> 00:29:24,964 There wasn't even a clue 584 00:29:25,064 --> 00:29:27,133 they would... 585 00:29:27,233 --> 00:29:28,534 murder him. 586 00:29:29,802 --> 00:29:33,605 He had called me, talking about the business. 587 00:29:33,705 --> 00:29:37,509 He was a sales representative for my lighting company, 588 00:29:37,609 --> 00:29:39,511 and he was doing this just because 589 00:29:39,611 --> 00:29:42,648 he's a sales guy 590 00:29:42,748 --> 00:29:45,717 and he wanted to stay in the game, 591 00:29:45,818 --> 00:29:48,120 be vital. 592 00:29:50,256 --> 00:29:54,293 And what a sadness that he left behind. 593 00:29:54,393 --> 00:29:58,097 What a horrible thing to have happened. 594 00:29:58,197 --> 00:30:01,834 I still haven't, you know... 595 00:30:01,934 --> 00:30:03,635 gotten over it. 596 00:30:08,975 --> 00:30:10,109 MACHADO: I was home one night, 597 00:30:10,209 --> 00:30:11,944 and my son 598 00:30:12,044 --> 00:30:15,514 was asking Google silly questions. 599 00:30:15,614 --> 00:30:17,616 Google Assistant is a search engine. 600 00:30:17,716 --> 00:30:19,518 It's based on voice commands. 601 00:30:19,618 --> 00:30:21,353 You know, you're sitting on your couch 602 00:30:21,453 --> 00:30:24,023 and say, you know, "Where's the nearest restaurant 603 00:30:24,123 --> 00:30:25,724 that sells whatever?" 604 00:30:27,793 --> 00:30:30,662 MACHADO: And I discovered that my son 605 00:30:30,762 --> 00:30:32,899 and his silly questions, 606 00:30:32,999 --> 00:30:36,002 they were actually being recorded in his voice 607 00:30:36,102 --> 00:30:37,269 on the phone, 608 00:30:37,369 --> 00:30:38,837 and I could play them back. 609 00:30:38,938 --> 00:30:41,607 And it brought me to an activity page 610 00:30:41,707 --> 00:30:44,877 in the phone where I could search 611 00:30:44,977 --> 00:30:47,013 and I could type in anything. 612 00:30:47,113 --> 00:30:48,915 MORETTI: This information, 613 00:30:49,015 --> 00:30:50,616 that's stored in there, 614 00:30:50,716 --> 00:30:51,850 stored for a long time. 615 00:30:53,585 --> 00:30:54,887 CONCEPTION: Technology is great, 616 00:30:54,987 --> 00:30:56,522 especially in law enforcement, 617 00:30:56,622 --> 00:30:58,557 but it's always changing. 618 00:30:58,657 --> 00:31:02,394 And using voice commands such as Google Voice 619 00:31:02,494 --> 00:31:04,730 wasn't as common until recently. 620 00:31:04,830 --> 00:31:07,033 It was a new technology back then, 621 00:31:07,133 --> 00:31:09,201 and investigators weren't even aware that 622 00:31:09,301 --> 00:31:12,604 they had the capability to extract that data 623 00:31:12,704 --> 00:31:14,573 from Alan's cell phone. 624 00:31:14,673 --> 00:31:16,575 MACHADO: At that time, that was the first time 625 00:31:16,675 --> 00:31:19,045 I had seen that feature. 626 00:31:19,145 --> 00:31:21,680 So that was my first introduction to, 627 00:31:21,780 --> 00:31:24,083 hey, you may not get anything out of an extraction 628 00:31:24,183 --> 00:31:27,053 because they live in the clouds. 629 00:31:27,153 --> 00:31:28,887 You have to manually search for it 630 00:31:28,988 --> 00:31:30,422 or get a search warrant 631 00:31:30,522 --> 00:31:33,092 for that cloud service. 632 00:31:34,093 --> 00:31:35,327 And I thought, 633 00:31:35,427 --> 00:31:37,629 "I need to check Alan's phone 634 00:31:37,729 --> 00:31:41,267 to see if anything is on his phone." 635 00:31:43,069 --> 00:31:44,403 I went into work 636 00:31:44,503 --> 00:31:46,638 and got the phone back out of evidence 637 00:31:46,738 --> 00:31:48,507 and went right to that same spot on his phone 638 00:31:48,607 --> 00:31:51,143 and discovered it was enabled. 639 00:31:51,243 --> 00:31:53,645 And I started searching different keywords 640 00:31:53,745 --> 00:31:55,547 that had come up in the investigation. 641 00:31:55,647 --> 00:31:59,051 Helium, balloon. 642 00:31:59,151 --> 00:32:00,052 MORETTI: A plethora 643 00:32:00,152 --> 00:32:01,787 of searches 644 00:32:01,887 --> 00:32:03,722 came forth. 645 00:32:03,822 --> 00:32:05,591 MACHADO: And we made 646 00:32:05,691 --> 00:32:07,593 a huge discovery. 647 00:32:15,101 --> 00:32:17,136 * * 648 00:32:22,941 --> 00:32:25,144 MORETTI: About 30 days after the initial 649 00:32:25,244 --> 00:32:27,613 start of the investigation, our crime analyst 650 00:32:27,713 --> 00:32:29,348 Colleen Machado discovers 651 00:32:29,448 --> 00:32:33,919 critical searches on Alan's phone. 652 00:32:35,721 --> 00:32:38,090 MACHADO: Between searches, he had typed in searches 653 00:32:38,190 --> 00:32:40,492 he recorded in his own voice. 654 00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:42,894 It opened up 655 00:32:42,995 --> 00:32:45,597 a vast amount of information 656 00:32:45,697 --> 00:32:49,035 going back a decade. 657 00:32:50,336 --> 00:32:52,604 MORETTI: Mr. Abrahamson's own voice... 658 00:33:02,614 --> 00:33:05,851 ...from 2009 to 2018. 659 00:33:14,226 --> 00:33:16,728 MORETTI: Ten years of data. 660 00:33:23,202 --> 00:33:25,737 CONCEPTION: It's highly likely that... 661 00:33:25,837 --> 00:33:28,574 Alan Abrahamson killed himself. 662 00:33:29,908 --> 00:33:31,443 MACHADO: The searches in his phone, 663 00:33:31,543 --> 00:33:35,514 specifically about suicide, went back to 2009. 664 00:33:35,614 --> 00:33:36,748 MORETTI: He had been planning 665 00:33:36,848 --> 00:33:39,085 to do this for over ten years. 666 00:33:45,357 --> 00:33:47,859 That kind of really settled it in for us 667 00:33:47,959 --> 00:33:52,431 that what happened to Mr. Abrahamson was suicide. 668 00:33:53,932 --> 00:33:56,502 I thought, "This is it. 669 00:33:56,602 --> 00:33:57,703 We know why this happened." 670 00:33:57,803 --> 00:33:59,338 And I looked over at Detective Moretti, 671 00:33:59,438 --> 00:34:01,273 and I said, "We've got it." 672 00:34:01,373 --> 00:34:03,775 That was the linchpin that tied everything together. 673 00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:06,612 MACHADO: We knew at that point 674 00:34:06,712 --> 00:34:08,580 that we're gonna be able to prove this. 675 00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:10,081 We solved it. 676 00:34:10,181 --> 00:34:12,118 Now I just had to present the case 677 00:34:12,217 --> 00:34:13,752 to the state attorney's office, 678 00:34:13,851 --> 00:34:15,154 and then I had to present the case 679 00:34:15,254 --> 00:34:16,922 to the medical examiner's office. 680 00:34:19,125 --> 00:34:23,462 TORMOS: I almost never go to the scene of a homicide, 681 00:34:23,562 --> 00:34:25,331 and this was one case 682 00:34:25,431 --> 00:34:27,666 where I definitely wanted to. 683 00:34:27,766 --> 00:34:28,667 So... 684 00:34:28,766 --> 00:34:30,369 I went with the investigators 685 00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:33,472 because I wanted to see the field for myself 686 00:34:33,572 --> 00:34:37,976 and look at the distances and whether there was 687 00:34:38,076 --> 00:34:42,214 any intervening shrubbery which could have caught 688 00:34:42,313 --> 00:34:45,684 the weather balloon, given where he was found. 689 00:34:45,784 --> 00:34:48,920 And I was able to convince myself that, yes, 690 00:34:49,020 --> 00:34:54,426 a weather balloon could be released from this open field, 691 00:34:54,525 --> 00:34:58,730 and it would not have caught in the surrounding trees. 692 00:34:58,830 --> 00:35:00,666 It would have flown up. 693 00:35:03,302 --> 00:35:06,172 I spoke to the state attorney and said, 694 00:35:06,272 --> 00:35:08,006 "I ruled this a homicide. 695 00:35:08,106 --> 00:35:10,476 "And here Detective Moretti 696 00:35:10,576 --> 00:35:15,914 "is bringing this theory that this is a suicide. 697 00:35:16,014 --> 00:35:17,249 And you know what?" 698 00:35:17,916 --> 00:35:19,518 "It all makes sense." 699 00:35:20,352 --> 00:35:22,521 "Look at this evidence." 700 00:35:23,422 --> 00:35:27,058 "It fully explains the findings at the scene. 701 00:35:27,159 --> 00:35:29,428 "And I am going to change this 702 00:35:29,528 --> 00:35:32,030 from a homicide to a suicide." 703 00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:35,201 And he was in complete agreement. 704 00:35:35,301 --> 00:35:37,269 The evidence speaks for itself. 705 00:35:39,371 --> 00:35:42,908 MORETTI: On January 24th, Wednesday... 706 00:35:45,177 --> 00:35:47,045 ...that night, Mr. Abrahamson 707 00:35:47,145 --> 00:35:49,548 drove his vehicle to the exact spot 708 00:35:49,648 --> 00:35:52,050 where he was located the next morning. 709 00:35:52,150 --> 00:35:54,820 We believe he was hiding 710 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,889 the tanks somewhere in the field there. 711 00:35:57,989 --> 00:36:00,459 Then, the next morning, we got him 712 00:36:00,559 --> 00:36:04,296 exiting the BallenIsles carrying something in his hand. 713 00:36:04,396 --> 00:36:06,732 These weather balloons, they expand to be very big, 714 00:36:06,832 --> 00:36:08,934 but they are carryable. 715 00:36:09,034 --> 00:36:11,870 And then Mr. Abrahamson walked to the field, 716 00:36:11,970 --> 00:36:15,040 and then he would inflate the balloon, 717 00:36:15,140 --> 00:36:18,877 tie it off, get rid of the helium tanks, 718 00:36:18,977 --> 00:36:21,313 attach the gun to the weather balloon. 719 00:36:21,413 --> 00:36:24,082 He probably attached some type of bag around 720 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:26,718 the ejection port, which would catch the casing. 721 00:36:26,818 --> 00:36:29,455 Take out your binder clip with no money in it, 722 00:36:29,555 --> 00:36:31,323 so it looks like a robbery, 723 00:36:31,423 --> 00:36:32,924 use the scissors that were there, 724 00:36:33,024 --> 00:36:35,261 and then pull the trigger. 725 00:36:36,895 --> 00:36:40,799 And then the balloon took off with the gun. 726 00:36:45,437 --> 00:36:48,840 Based on the linear bloodstain that is found 727 00:36:48,940 --> 00:36:50,642 going upwards from the saturation stain 728 00:36:50,742 --> 00:36:53,645 surrounding the entrance wound, 729 00:36:53,745 --> 00:36:54,946 it is plausible 730 00:36:55,046 --> 00:36:56,848 that the string hanging from the balloon 731 00:36:56,948 --> 00:36:59,651 and from the gun was able to come in contact 732 00:36:59,751 --> 00:37:00,986 with that saturation stain 733 00:37:01,086 --> 00:37:03,889 and then transfer that blood from the string 734 00:37:03,989 --> 00:37:06,258 while moving across 735 00:37:06,358 --> 00:37:08,727 the top of Alan's shirt. 736 00:37:10,796 --> 00:37:12,598 The trash collection 737 00:37:12,698 --> 00:37:15,701 was on the morning of when 738 00:37:15,801 --> 00:37:17,869 Mr. Abrahamson was found. 739 00:37:17,969 --> 00:37:19,705 The trash bins were empty 740 00:37:19,805 --> 00:37:20,939 when we were there. 741 00:37:21,039 --> 00:37:22,841 TORMOS: And it is likely that he placed 742 00:37:22,941 --> 00:37:26,712 the helium tanks in the trash collection device, 743 00:37:26,812 --> 00:37:29,648 which would have been collected right around the time 744 00:37:29,748 --> 00:37:32,284 that police had cordoned off the scene. 745 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:35,721 MORETTI: Our theory is that 746 00:37:35,821 --> 00:37:39,190 he chose that time because it was still dark at that point. 747 00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:42,428 In order to see the weather balloon, 748 00:37:42,528 --> 00:37:44,396 you almost have to catch it as it's happening, 749 00:37:44,496 --> 00:37:46,832 because it's gonna be quick. 750 00:37:46,932 --> 00:37:49,000 Well, I found a weather balloon tracker online, 751 00:37:49,100 --> 00:37:50,502 and we put in the date 752 00:37:50,602 --> 00:37:52,103 that this occurred. 753 00:37:52,203 --> 00:37:55,507 And we put in the actual weather for that day-- 754 00:37:55,607 --> 00:37:56,942 wind speed, wind gust speed-- 755 00:37:57,042 --> 00:38:00,579 and it actually mapped out 756 00:38:00,679 --> 00:38:02,280 where the balloon was gonna go. 757 00:38:02,381 --> 00:38:05,417 It went west 758 00:38:05,517 --> 00:38:07,252 and then made a turn 759 00:38:07,353 --> 00:38:08,587 and went back out 760 00:38:08,687 --> 00:38:09,821 over the Atlantic 761 00:38:09,921 --> 00:38:11,923 and burst, possibly, 762 00:38:12,023 --> 00:38:14,693 just north of Grand Bahama Island. 763 00:38:21,032 --> 00:38:22,167 MORETTI: So we do a little bit 764 00:38:22,267 --> 00:38:24,202 of research on it, and lo and behold, 765 00:38:24,302 --> 00:38:26,104 there's a CSI episode that happened. 766 00:38:26,204 --> 00:38:27,339 CSI: Las Vegas. 767 00:38:27,439 --> 00:38:28,907 They have a scene like this, 768 00:38:29,007 --> 00:38:30,442 except in this case, 769 00:38:30,542 --> 00:38:32,177 they had, like, the big red balloons 770 00:38:32,277 --> 00:38:34,012 filled with helium and... 771 00:38:34,112 --> 00:38:36,081 then tied the gun to the thing. 772 00:38:36,181 --> 00:38:38,116 He shot and killed himself. 773 00:38:38,216 --> 00:38:39,818 The balloons traveled, they popped. 774 00:38:39,918 --> 00:38:43,389 The gun was found quite a ways from where this person was. 775 00:38:43,489 --> 00:38:45,724 And this was initially considered a homicide. 776 00:38:47,593 --> 00:38:50,128 * * 777 00:38:51,162 --> 00:38:53,399 TORMOS: This could have been 778 00:38:53,499 --> 00:38:55,634 the perfect suicide 779 00:38:55,734 --> 00:38:59,938 if not for the phone. 780 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:02,574 MORETTI: The phone was the key 781 00:39:02,674 --> 00:39:05,010 to unlocking everything, 782 00:39:05,110 --> 00:39:08,246 from his movements to his purchases. 783 00:39:08,346 --> 00:39:11,583 The digital analysis blew this case wide open. 784 00:39:11,683 --> 00:39:14,285 Well, after their nearly six-month-long investigation, 785 00:39:14,386 --> 00:39:16,755 Palm Beach Gardens Police releasing this report 786 00:39:16,855 --> 00:39:19,224 exclusively to CBS 12 News tonight. 787 00:39:19,324 --> 00:39:22,461 It is the case of 72-year-old Alan Abrahamson. 788 00:39:22,561 --> 00:39:24,730 His body found in the field behind me. 789 00:39:24,830 --> 00:39:27,733 Now, tonight, police concluding that he took his own life 790 00:39:27,833 --> 00:39:29,768 and it was not murder. 791 00:39:29,868 --> 00:39:32,938 MORETTI: We would have never established a suspect 792 00:39:33,038 --> 00:39:35,774 and this case probably would be an unsolved to this day 793 00:39:35,874 --> 00:39:39,377 if we didn't have the digital forensics of the cell phone. 794 00:39:43,314 --> 00:39:45,884 CONCEPTION: 24 years of homicide investigations, 795 00:39:45,984 --> 00:39:48,286 ten years a hostage negotiator 796 00:39:48,386 --> 00:39:50,656 and a crisis intervention officer. 797 00:39:50,756 --> 00:39:53,091 Never seen or heard of any case like this before. 798 00:39:55,961 --> 00:39:59,665 TORMOS: One of the main questions we ask is why? 799 00:40:00,632 --> 00:40:03,201 Why would he do this? 800 00:40:03,301 --> 00:40:08,306 He had a beautiful life, beautiful family. 801 00:40:08,406 --> 00:40:10,241 He lived in a very nice community, 802 00:40:10,341 --> 00:40:11,710 had lots of friends. 803 00:40:11,810 --> 00:40:14,212 He was always described as someone 804 00:40:14,312 --> 00:40:16,247 who people gravitated to. 805 00:40:17,315 --> 00:40:19,384 SIEVERS: It is somewhat of a stigma of men, 806 00:40:19,485 --> 00:40:21,052 especially in the cases I've worked, 807 00:40:21,152 --> 00:40:22,888 of men with suicide where 808 00:40:22,988 --> 00:40:24,322 they are suffering alone 809 00:40:24,422 --> 00:40:26,692 and don't express those feelings to others. 810 00:40:26,792 --> 00:40:28,794 And that's why their close relatives, 811 00:40:28,894 --> 00:40:30,829 friends, and the people that know them best would still 812 00:40:30,929 --> 00:40:33,965 describe them as positive, upbeat and happy, 813 00:40:34,065 --> 00:40:37,135 where in the meanwhile, they're suffering internally. 814 00:40:37,235 --> 00:40:39,304 The truth is, we will probably never know 815 00:40:39,404 --> 00:40:41,072 exactly why he did it. 816 00:40:41,172 --> 00:40:42,674 ("The Reason" by Geographer playing) 817 00:40:42,774 --> 00:40:48,947 * Who have I deceived... * 818 00:40:49,047 --> 00:40:51,449 BLACKSTONE: I enjoyed every second 819 00:40:51,550 --> 00:40:53,719 I spent with Alan. 820 00:40:56,321 --> 00:40:58,056 I miss him. 821 00:40:58,156 --> 00:41:01,960 I miss Alan. He was a friend. 822 00:41:02,060 --> 00:41:03,529 He was a good friend. 823 00:41:05,296 --> 00:41:07,198 I think when you're touched 824 00:41:07,298 --> 00:41:10,435 by a suicide 825 00:41:10,536 --> 00:41:15,373 from somebody that you had a good relationship with, 826 00:41:15,473 --> 00:41:17,008 it makes you appreciate 827 00:41:17,108 --> 00:41:19,377 the fact that life is short. 828 00:41:19,477 --> 00:41:23,448 * The reason's going in and out... * 829 00:41:23,549 --> 00:41:25,416 SIEVERS: For people out there who also 830 00:41:25,517 --> 00:41:26,952 might be suffering in silence 831 00:41:27,052 --> 00:41:29,454 or can resonate with possibly how Alan was feeling 832 00:41:29,555 --> 00:41:32,390 in the years, months and days leading up to his death, 833 00:41:32,490 --> 00:41:34,259 there's no reason to suffer in silence. 834 00:41:34,359 --> 00:41:35,460 There are resources out there for you, 835 00:41:35,561 --> 00:41:37,262 and there are people out there 836 00:41:37,362 --> 00:41:38,764 who want to help you. 837 00:41:38,864 --> 00:41:42,601 * Perfect sound * 838 00:41:42,701 --> 00:41:48,807 * But the reason's with me now. * 839 00:42:11,262 --> 00:42:15,133 Captioning sponsored by CBS 840 00:42:15,233 --> 00:42:19,237 Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org