TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. (WAFB) – A well-known Baton Rouge mental health therapist was found murdered and wrapped in a tarp along a roadway in Tangipahoa Parish, investigators said.

Detectives say 69-year-old Dr. William Nicholas Abraham of Baton Rouge died in a “violent attack” with blunt force trauma to his head, neck and shoulders.

“It was a very physical and very violent attack,” said Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Gerald Sticker. “He was hit in the head, shoulders and neck. There were a lot of bruises, what do you have?’

Those who knew the therapist said they were stunned by his death.

“He was kind, loving, a gentle man, and honestly not the kind of man something like this would have happened to,” Jarrett Ambeau said. “I am absolutely devastated and completely surprised that something like this could happen to a man who I believe is so tender and gentle and has such a serving heart.”

The doctor’s stolen vehicle was recovered Monday afternoon on Sherwood Forest Boulevard in Baton Rouge. A person in the vehicle crashed, got out and fled on foot. That person was not arrested.

Later Monday evening, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office released photos of a person of interest. Officers said the person was seen on store surveillance footage and is the last known person to drive Abraham’s vehicle.

RELATED: Person of interest wanted in murder investigation of Baton Rouge therapist

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office says a passerby spotted the doctor’s body Sunday morning along Highway 51 between Fluker and the village of Tangipahoa. No weapon was found at the scene and investigators say they believe the murder took place elsewhere sometime on Saturday, with his body later dumped along the highway.

On Monday afternoon, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Gerald Sticker asked for the public’s help in their search for the killer. Sticker said his office is looking for “any information the public can give us to help us piece together the picture of Saturday, Saturday night before he was ultimately killed – which we believe occurred sometime Saturday evening.”

Officers in Tangipahoa Parish say they are focusing on determining where the murder occurred.

A search of the victim’s home in East Baton Rouge Parish found no evidence that a crime was committed there, investigators said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Tangipahoa Parish Criminal Investigations Office at 985-902-2008. To remain anonymous, tipsters call the Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa tip line at 1-800-554-5245 or visit www.tangicrimestoppers.com.

“We are asking anyone in the public who knows our victim, if they saw him on Saturday evening, please call the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers,” said Sheriff Sticker.

The visit to Dr. Abraham is scheduled for Monday, October 7. It will take place from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Clarksdale, Mississippi. A funeral mass will follow the visit, along with a reception in McKenna Hall.

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