Police say shooting death mimicked ‘CSI’ episode
It looked like something out of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” And sure enough, it was.
State police said Wednesday that they had solved a mysterious shooting death that was similar to one depicted on “CSI” in 2003. In both cases, a revolver was found tied to balloons in an apparent effort to make the weapon float away.
Authorities determined that Thomas Hickman, 55, committed suicide after an investigation that included renting a copy of the episode.
“We’re not saying it’s a copycat of the TV show,” state police Lt. Rick Anglada said. “We have no way to know he actually saw the episode.” However, people kept telling investigators about a similar “CSI” case.
At first, investigators suspected homicide when Hickman was found dead March 15 along U.S. 84 southeast of Santa Rosa, N.M., his mouth covered by duct tape.
The clue that linked the case to “CSI”: six or seven white balloons tangled in a cactus, about 30 feet from the body.
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