What happened to Alan Jay Abrahamson? Details explored ahead of The Real CSI: Miami on CBS 

The Real CSI: MIAMI season 1, episode 5, titled Out Of Thin Air, airs on July 24, 2024, and focuses on the murder mystery of Alan Jay Abrahamson. Alan, a Palm Beach Garden resident, was killed on January 25, 2018, by a single gunshot wound that damaged his rib, heart, and lungs. The case has been difficult for Florida detectives to solve, with initial evidence pointing to a homicide but lacking clear details, as reported by CNN.

This Palm Beach mystery however started to unravel when they took a deeper dive into Alan’s records including his email, search history, and more. This mysterious case can be added to the books of creative murder ideas.

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What happened to Alan Jay Abrahamson?

Alan Jay Abrahamson, a 71-year-old, was found dead in a Florida field in January 2018. Palm Beach detectives investigated the case as a homicide but did not find the murder weapon or any bullet casings. The few pieces of evidence found at the scene included his phone, a shred of string, blood drops on his blue T-shirt, a wallet, and scissors.

Alan’s wife Linda shared with Palm Beach Gardens police that Alan was on his way to meet his friend Victor Greenstein on the morning of January 15, 2018, following his usual routine of morning walks and coffee.

Alan Jay Abrahamson visited the north entrance of Palm Beach Gardens and was even spotted on camera last at 5:53 am, 30 minutes after which there was a gunshot heard, the sound of which was also recorded by the CCTV.

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Who killed Alan?

Alan took his own life with the help of helium balloon. (Representative image via Unsplash/ Ankush Minda)

The detectives initially were puzzled as there was no CCTV footage of his death nor ample evidence to conclude the case. However, the mystery started to unravel when they decided to look into Alan’s phone, his email, and his browsing history.

The police found in his email a $55 weather balloon order placed by him in the past. He had even purchased a helium tank and googled -

"How many cubic feet of helium do you need to raise one pound?"sas reported by CNN.

Alan Jay Abrahamson's Google history revealed searches related to su*cide and life insurance over several years. In 2009, he searched for "su*cide" and "how to commit su*cide." In 2012, he looked up "life insurance su*cide," and in 2016, he searched for "undetectable methods of su*cide." Detectives speculated that Alan might have used a helium-filled weather balloon to make the gun disappear after shooting himself, as he had purchased a helium tank and weather balloon.

Alan Jay Abrahamson inflated the weather balloon and tied it to the gun. He shot himself after that and the balloon made the gun fly out of the scene and disappear.

In 2018, Florida detective Bryan Broehm concluded the same and confirmed that Alan killed himself for life insurance so that his wife and kids could benefit from the payout. It was not murder but su*cide staged to look like a murder, as Alan had used up all his savings money and wanted his kids and wife to have a better life after his death, from the life insurance payout.

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Watch The Real CSI: MIAMI season one episode five to learn more about the suicide of Alan Jay Abrahamson.