BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A close friend of William Nicholas Abraham tells what he thinks may have caused his death. "I was absolutely blown away when I heard it," said Baton Rouge attorney Jarrett Ambeau. 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," said Ambeau. 69-year-old Abraham was found wrapped in a tarp along a highway in Tangipahoa Parish on Sunday. The coroner's office ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma. On Tuesday, Dallas police arrested 20-year-old Terryon Thomas on a warrant after being named a person of interest in Abraham's death. He faces several charges, including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Suspect arrested after highway road rage shooting in Baton Rouge BRPD said they attempted to stop Thomas after he was driving Abraham's black Lincoln Monday, but he struck a police vehicle and fled the scene. According to Ambeau, Abraham was openly gay. He said initially he thought that could have had something to do with his death. "Probably like a hate crime, right?" said Ambeau. "It felt like maybe Dr. Nick was involving himself in some fun or some interests, some kind of intimate interests and maybe somebody set him up to hurt him." Thomas has not been charged in connection with Abraham's death as of this writing. He is expected to be extradited to Louisiana to face other charges. Latest News EBRSO deputy accused of sexual abuse involving minors arrested Trump calls new January 6th accusations 'pure election interference' Close friend weighs in on the death of Baton Rouge therapist Former LSU baseball operations director Ross Brezovsky dies at 39 Suspect arrested after highway road rage shooting in Baton Rouge