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In Monroe County Circuit Court, Dr. Patricia Jens said the anti-psychotic medication Abramson was on at the time of the killing might be to blame.
However, Dr. Frederick Fosdal said he could not substantiate that schizophrenia kept Abramson from comprehending what he was doing was wrong.
The psychiatrists testified Tuesday during the second day of the trial to decide if Abramson, now 27 and serving a life prison term, was sane when he bludgeoned 27-year-old Nicolle Shaw on Sept. 1, 2001. If the jury finds he is insane, he would be sent to a mental treatment facility until deemed no longer a danger to himself or others.
Jens said before his trial in December 2002, she decided Abramson was mentally responsible because Abramson told her he was drunk when he killed Shaw, and he showed no signs of psychotic behavior.
But that initial opinion “crumbled apart,” she said, when she learned Abramson’s blood-alcohol concentration was lower than she initially believed and that Abramson demonstrated psychotic behavior the night before the killing.
In the fall of 2004, Jens was appointed to evaluate Abramson a second time. He then was at the Wisconsin Resource Center near Oshkosh, Wis., where he was sent after refusing to take anti-psychotic medication and getting into fights in another prison, Jens said.
Two days before his scheduled evaluation, Abramson launched an unprovoked attack on a fellow inmate he claimed was harassing him, Jens said.
During his evaluation, Abramson told Jens he went after the inmate because voices told him the man was going to “kill all the Norwegians,” according to Jens’ testimony.
She also learned that, weeks earlier, a prison psychiatrist began treating Abramson with Haldol — the same drug given to Abramson in the weeks before Shaw’s death, Jens testified.
Although she admitted there is no proof Abramson was delusional or hallucinating when he killed Shaw, Jens said she believes the attack was similar to the one at the Wisconsin Resource Center.
Fosdal, who testified on behalf of the state, said he knew about the second attack but did not see how the two were related because Abramson had a history of getting in fights that dated back to his teen years.
Rather than place the blame on the mental illness, Fosdal said Abramson went into a “temporary emotional state” because of his underlying mental illness.
Testimony will resume at 8:30 a.m. today, followed by closing arguments and jury deliberations.
Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
