A close friend speaks out about the death of a Baton Rouge therapist

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A close friend of William Nicholas Abraham shares what he believes may have caused his death.

“I was completely overwhelmed when I heard that,” said Jarrett Ambeau, a Baton Rouge attorney.

Ambeau knew Abraham or Dr. Nick, as he called him, for 20 years.

“He was a sweet man, he was, you know, a very gentle soul,” Ambeau said.

Abraham, 69, was found wrapped in a tarp along a highway in Tangipahoa Parish on Sunday. The medical examiner's office ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

On Tuesday, Dallas police arrested 20-year-old Terryon Thomas on a warrant after he was named as a person involved in Abraham's death. He faces several charges, including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

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BRPD said they tried to stop Thomas on Monday after he was driving Abraham's black Lincoln, but he struck a police vehicle and fled the scene.

According to Ambeau, Abraham was openly gay. He said he initially thought it might have had something to do with his death.

“Probably like a hate crime, right?” Ambeau said. “It felt like Dr. Nick might have been engaging in some fun or other interest, some kind of intimate way, and maybe someone had tricked him into hurting him.”

At this time, Thomas has not been charged in connection with Abraham's death. He is expected to be extradited to Louisiana to face additional charges.

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