ILL WIND FOILS FAKE MURDER
A chilling episode of “CSI” inspired a twisted copycat killing in which a man tried to make his violent death look like murder – and he almost got away with it, The ENQUIRER has learned.
Thomas Hickman tied a bunch of helium balloons to a handgun and shot himself, say police. He figured the gun would float away after he fell down dead and his family would get a big life insurance payoff.
Most insurance plans will not pay for suicides – but they will pay the survivors of murder victims.
First, Hickman drove into the New Mexico desert, covered his mouth with duct tape, then shot himself in the back of the head.
He had planned for the weapon to be carried into the sky by the balloons – just like the plot of an October 2003 “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” episode.
But after Hickman shot himself in the back of the head, the balloons snagged on a nearby cactus and his copycat charade came to a prickly end.
“We thought we were investigating a kidnapping-homicide when Mr. Hickman’s body was first discovered,” Lt. Rick Anglada of the New Mexico State Police told The ENQUIRER.
“It had all the earmarks – the duct tape, the execution-style shot in the back of the head.
“But one of the investigators recalled seeing a ‘CSI’ episode in which balloons were used to cover up a suicide. We got a copy of the show – and sure enough, there were all these similarities.”
Pick up the new issue of The ENQUIRER for more details!
Published on: 07/30/2008
