Body of therapist found in tarp along highway, Louisiana sheriff says. ‘Devastating’
A report of a suspicious tarp on the side of a highway led Louisiana deputies to discover a body, a sheriff’s office said.
Deputies responded to Highway 51 between Fluker and the Village of Tangipahoa early Sunday, Sept. 29, according to a Sept. 30 news release from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Wrapped inside the tarp was the body of a man, later identified as 69-year-old William Nicholas Abraham, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said Abraham’s body was badly beaten, and the coroner’s office ruled his death a homicide by blunt force trauma.
“It was a very physical, very violent death,” Sheriff Gerald Sticker told WVUE.
Baton Rouge Police located Abraham’s vehicle Sept. 30, but when police tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver sped away, crashed the car and escaped on foot, according to an updated statement.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
Abraham wore many hats, according to his website, which describes him as a therapist, author, former priest, jazz singer and more.
Attorney Jarrett Ambeau told McClatchy News that Abraham was well-known in the community.
“He had a servant’s heart and really affected and helped a lot of people through life,” Ambeau said.
Ambeau said many of Abraham’s clients have reached out to him heartbroken and in shock.
“It’s just absolutely devastating for a man of this kind of character — sweet, tender, loving, gentle soul — to have to have been murdered in such a brutal way,” he said.
