Merle Abrahams

Merle Abrahams, also known as The Infinity Killer, is a character mentioned in Grand Theft Auto V.

History[]

Background[]

Abrahams resided on Cholla Springs Avenue, Sandy Shores, for much of his life, until he began developing a severely psychotic state of mind, and an apparent obsession with both the number 8 and infinity (∞). He claimed that "8 is just infinity stood up", hence his nickname The Infinity Killer.

In 1999, Abrahams reached the peak of his psychosis when he murdered eight male joggers and hid their bodies in the waters around the islands of North Point, north of Paleto Bay, in a murder spree which was dubbed "The Infinity Murders" by the authorities. Soon afterwards, he was captured by the police and incarcerated in Bolingbroke Penitentiary. At some point during his incarceration, his home in Sandy Shores was destroyed in an arson attack, possibly by one of his neighbors.

Abrahams died in December 2004 at the age of 57, while awaiting trial for the Infinity Murders. He never confessed to committing the murders, but he admitted to having an "irrational obsession" with the number 8. The bodies of his murder victims were never found.

Events of Grand Theft Auto V[]

In GTA V, the player can take it upon themselves to investigate the Infinity Murders, in a bid to finally find the bodies of the missing eight joggers.

Clues[]

In a destroyed home on the corner of Algonquin Boulevard and Panorama Drive in Sandy Shores, there is a pinned The Senora Beacon report from December 2004.

“Merle Abrahams, the suspected Infinity Killer, passed away last night in Bolingbroke Penitentiary while awaiting trial for abduction and torture. Abrahams, 57, was suspected to be responsible for the Infinity Murders, a series of disappearances that happened 5 years ago. Police believed the 8 victims, who were all single young men who were killed while jogging, were all murdered by the same person and had circumstantial evidence linking Mr. Abrahams to the victims. No bodies were ever found and Abrahams never confessed, although he did admit to a weird obsession to the number 8.”

— Newspaper report

Abrahams' burnt-out house is located in Sandy Shores. Inside the house, there are various messages left by him. Among them is a message scrawled on a wall.

“There will be 8.”

— Inside the house.

“8 is just infinity stood up.”

— Inside the house.

There are further clues, with a mountain shape with what looks like 4 clouds above it, and the repeated pattern of black and white number 8s. A pair of shoes are hanging from the ceiling in the back room and there are what appear to be body parts in preserving jars on a shelf unit.

Anti-Abrahams graffiti is sprayed on the north wall of the house.

Some barrels and trash cans around Sandy Shores can be seen with an 8 painted on them in blood.

On two rocks in the Senora National Park, there are short rhymes left by Abrahams which tell about the 8 people he killed, as well as saying he'll leave a clue where the bodies are.

“One is done.
Two was fun.
Three tried to run.
Four called 'Mom'.
Five's not alive.
Six is nix.
Seven's in heaven.
Eight won't wait.”

— Rhyme on rocks near Beam Me Up.

“They want me they can have
But they’ll never get my people
Even though I shall leave them sign enough
Where they put me”

— On rocks further south.

Inside Bolingbroke Penitentiary, on the wall of a recreation yard, another phrase can be found written in black ink.

“Where water meets land and fire once spewed forth
There the infinite 8 shall stay
Until I return”

— Bollingbroke wall

Below this message is an improved version of the mountain and "clouds" drawing. These form a map of the islands around North Point, north of Mount Chiliad. This explains where he dumped the eight bodies.

Bodies[]

Even though the report states the victims were young male joggers, there are eight female bodies on the sea bed, all bound in plastic wrap with a number 8 inscribed on their torso vaguely visible through the wrap. The monochrome 8s on the walls in his house correlate to the way the corpses are bound, with the five black 8s relating to the five bound with their hands behind their back, while the three marked with white reflect the 3 corpses bound with their hands in front of them. Note that the Enhanced Version of GTA V significantly increases the seabed flora and makes at least two of the corpses very difficult to see compared to the original version on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Eight more female bodies appear in the southern waters of Cayo Perico in Grand Theft Auto Online in The Cayo Perico Heist update, but it is not revealed whether they were the work of Abrahams, a copycat, or are simply an Easter Egg to the Infinity Killer mystery in GTA V.

Character[]

Influence[]

Abrahams is similar to Freddy Krueger, the antagonist of the Nightmare on Elm Street slasher film series, in two ways:

Both Abrahams' and Krueger's homes were set on fire by neighbors, even though Krueger was in his at the time and Abrahams wasn't.
Most noticeably, Abrahams' nursery rhyme that he carved into a rock in Sandy Shores seems to be a reminiscence of Krueger's nursery rhyme from the films.

Abrahams use of the infinity sign is reminiscent of the Zodiac Killer's sign.

He may be inspired by Arthur Lee Allen, a suspect in the zodiac murders who never confessed to the murders but was noted as having an obsession with them.

Gallery[]

Clues

Bodies