David Abrahamsen (June 23, 1903 – May 20, 2002) was a Norwegian forensic psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author who wrote analyses of Richard M. Nixon and David Berkowitz.
He was the father of Inger McCabe Elliott. [1] [2] [3]
Abrahamsen was born in Trondheim, Norway in 1903. He studied medical science at the Royal Frederick University in Oslo and graduated in 1929. He eventually relocated to England, taking positions at the Tavistock Clinic and the London School of Economics. [4]
He moved to the United States in 1940 and joined the staff at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. Later he served as a psychiatrist and criminal psychopathologist at two major prisons in the U.S., first the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet, and then the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. He also worked for the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University, and served as a teacher and research associate at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons. [4]
Abrahamsen belonged to one of the oldest families of Jewish settlers in Norway, and his heritage informed the writing of his first book, I Am a Jew, which described and compared the traditional Norwegian and Jewish ways of life. [4]
Abrahamsen's paper, A Study of Lee Harvey Oswald: Psychological Capability of Murder, was published in the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, in October 1967. His book, Our Violent Society, came out in 1970, a Funk & Wagnalls' publication. [5]
Abrahamsen's expertise in psychopathology was enlisted by authorities during the notorious Son of Sam serial murder case: when the killer, David Berkowitz, was finally in custody, Abrahamsen was directed by the Brooklyn District Attorney to evaluate his ability to stand trial. He deemed him competent, but Berkowitz never went to trial, pleading guilty instead and receiving multiple life sentences. Abrahamsen continued to examine Berkowitz in jail, and ultimately documented his life in Confessions of Son of Sam (1985). [4]
Abrahamsen suspected Prince Albert Victor and James Kenneth Stephen worked as a collaborating team to commit the Jack the Ripper murders. [6] The book was criticized for providing no solid evidence. [7] [8]
Columbia University Library maintains a trove of research notes, drafts, correspondence and articles written by Abrahamsen on topics of criminals and criminality. [9]
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws. During criminal investigation in particular, it is governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal procedure. It is a broad field utilizing numerous practices such as the analysis of DNA, fingerprints, bloodstain patterns, firearms, ballistics, and toxicology.
Patricia Cornwell is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in Richmond, Virginia, where most of the stories are set. The plots are notable for their emphasis on forensic science, which has influenced later TV treatments of police work. Cornwell has also initiated new research into the Jack the Ripper killings, incriminating the popular British artist Walter Sickert. Her books have sold more than 100 million copies.
A series of murders that took place in the East End of London from August to November 1888 was blamed on an unidentified assailant who was nicknamed Jack the Ripper. Since that time, the identity of the killer or killers has been widely debated, and over 100 suspects have been named. Though many theories have been advanced, experts find none widely persuasive, and some are hardly taken seriously at all. Due to the extensive time interval since the murders, the killer will likely never be identified despite ongoing speculation as to his identity.
Dorothy Otnow Lewis is an American psychiatrist and author who has been an expert witness at a number of high-profile cases.
Joseph Vacher was a French serial killer and necrophile, sometimes known as "The French Ripper" or "L'éventreur du Sud-Est" owing to comparisons to the more famous Jack the Ripper murderer of London, England, in 1888. His scarred face and plain, white, handmade rabbit-fur hat composed his trademark appearance. He killed 11 to 27 people, many of whom were adolescent farm workers, between 1894 and 1897.
Park Elliot Dietz is a forensic psychiatrist who has consulted or testified in many of the highest profile US criminal cases, including spousal killer Betty Broderick, mass murderer Jared Lee Loughner, and serial killers Joel Rifkin, Arthur Shawcross, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Kaczynski, Richard Kuklinski, the D.C. sniper attacks, and William Bonin.
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and has been used by investigators to link cases that may have been committed by the same perpetrator. Multiple crimes may be linked to a specific offender and the profile may be used to predict the identified offender's future actions.
John Edward Douglas is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was one of the first criminal profilers and has written and co-written books on criminal psychology, true crime novels, and his biography.
David Richard Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976.
Most Evil is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery, first aired in 2006, presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during the program's first three seasons, and by forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie during its fourth season. On the show, the presenter rates murderers on a scale of evil that Stone himself has developed. The show features profiles on various murderers, serial killers, and mass murderers of various degrees of psychopathy.
Osborn Elliott was the editor of Newsweek magazine for sixteen years between 1961 and 1976. Elliott is credited with transforming Newsweek from a staid publication into a modern rival of Time.
Lyttelton Stewart Forbes Winslow MRCP was a British psychiatrist famous for his involvement in the Jack the Ripper and Georgina Weldon cases during the late Victorian era.
Pat Brown is an American writer, criminal profiler and commentator.
Inger McCabe Elliott is a Norwegian-born American entrepreneur, photographer, artist, and socialite. She is the founder of China Seas, Inc., a textile company.
Mindhunter is an American psychological crime thriller television series created by Joe Penhall, which debuted in 2017, based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. The executive producers include Penhall, Charlize Theron, and David Fincher, the latter of whom has served as the series' most frequent director and de facto showrunner, overseeing many of the scriptwriting and production processes. The series stars Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv, and it follows the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the late 1970s and the beginning of criminal profiling.
Amanda Howard is an Australian fiction writer, true crime author, and expert on serial killers.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness is a 2021 docuseries that premiered on Netflix on May 5, 2021. The show profiles Maury Terry, a journalist who spent 40 years trying to prove that the notorious serial killer David Berkowitz didn't act alone. The series is directed by Joshua Zeman and features Paul Giamatti as the voice of Maury Terry.
The Madness Inside Me is a 2021 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Matthew Berkowitz. Merrin Dungey stars as Madison Taylor, a forensic psychiatrist whose husband is killed during a home invasion by Francis Tate. However, Taylor refuses to identify the murderer and instead stalks him as she contemplates her conflicted feelings about both her husband's death and his murderer. It premiered at the 2020 Oldenburg International Film Festival. The Madness Inside Me was later acquired by Gravitas Ventures and was released on digital platforms, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 3, 2021.