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 Samserial 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]
Columbia University Library maintains a trove of research notes, drafts, correspondence and articles written by Abrahamsen on topics of criminals and criminality.[9]
^Newton, Michael. (2013). The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. McFarland. p. 149 ISBN978-0-7864-7325-0 "An odd hybrid theory, published by forensic psychiatrist David Abrahamsen in 1992, cast Eddie and Stephen as collaborating team killers... [However] Dr. Abrahamsen failed to produce any solid evidence connecting either suspect to the Ripper's crimes."
