Ursula Eriksson and Sabina Eriksson (born 3 November 1967) are

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

twin sisters who came to national attention in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in May 2008. The twins had been in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

before travelling to the UK and boarding a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Their odd behaviour after exiting the bus at a service station on the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

caused the driver not to allow them back on board. The two were later seen on the

central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

of the M6 motorway. When

Highways England National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all fo ...

traffic officers arrived to assist the women, they ran across the busy motorway, as captured by a small television crew. Ursula managed to dodge traffic, but Sabina was knocked over. Shortly after police arrived, the women again dashed onto the motorway and were struck by oncoming vehicles. Ursula suffered serious injuries, and when Sabina regained consciousness, she refused medical aid and attacked a police officer, at which point she was arrested and sedated. Appearing calm, though behaving unusually, Sabina was processed by police in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

and was later released from custody. Shortly afterwards, she was seen and taken in by Glenn Hollinshead, of Fenton,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, whom she suddenly stabbed to death the next day. Sabina was then pursued running from the scene and arrested in hospital after jumping from a bridge onto a busy trunk road. Despite these incidents, there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the incidents on the M6 or the killing of Hollinshead.. Sabina later pleaded guilty to

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

with

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental f ...

, after an apparent episode of ''

folie à deux Folie à deux ('folly of two', or 'madness haredby two'), also known as shared psychosis or shared delusional disorder (SDD), is a collection of rare psychiatric syndromes in which symptoms of a delusional belief, and sometimes hallucinations, ...

'' (or "shared psychosis"), a rare

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psy ...

disorder in which

delusion A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...

al beliefs are transmitted from one individual to another. Ursula was released from the hospital after recovering, but Sabina was sentenced to five years imprisonment and released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

in 2011 before returning to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Background

Sabina Eriksson and her

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

sister, Ursula Eriksson, were born in Sweden on 3 November 1967, and grew up in Sunne,

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...

, with an older sister named Mona and an older brother named Björn. In their youth there was no apparent history of mental health issues or criminal convictions, and by 2000, Ursula was living in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

while Sabina was living in Mallow,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

with her spouse and two children. Ursula visited Sabina on Friday 16 May 2008, but for reasons that were unclear, the sisters secretly departed Sabina's home for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Probably travelling by

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, they arrived in Liverpool at 8:30am on Saturday, and went to St Anne Street Police Station, apparently in order to report concerns over the safety of Sabina's children. Liverpool Police contacted

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to follow up the request, learning that Sabina had had a fight with her partner the previous night. At around 11:30am that morning, the pair then boarded a

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

headed to

Incidents

Bus journey

A police report stated that the twins suddenly disembarked from the bus at

Keele services Keele services is a motorway service station, between junctions 15 and 16 of the M6 motorway near Keele in England. Operated by Welcome Break, it was built in 1963 and was designed by Terence Verity of Verity Associates. The nearest towns are ...

, a

motorway service station Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The vas ...

, as they were not feeling well. The driver of the bus, however, said he left them at Keele services, even though it was not a scheduled rest stop, at around 1:00pm after becoming suspicious of their erratic behaviour. He noticed the twins clinging to their bags tightly and did not let them re-board because they refused to let him search their bags for illegal items. The manager of the service station was informed and, also feeling suspicious of the pair's demeanour, movements, and fixation on their bags, she called the police. Officers arrived to talk to them but left after saying that the women seemed harmless.

Running onto the motorway

As seen on

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

cameras, the pair departed the services on foot and began to walk down the central reservation of the M6 before attempting to cross it, causing chaos to the traffic and picking up minor injuries in the attempt – Sabina having been struck by a

SEAT León The SEAT León (), also spelled Leon in some other languages (named after the city of León, which also means "Lion" in Spanish), is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.ETKA The first two León ...

. Their elder brother claimed in a Swedish newspaper that his sisters were fleeing from maniacs who were chasing them.

Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all fo ...

officers responded to the incident, and police from the Central Motorway Police Group were called to assist. The police were accompanied by a small television crew who happened to be filming '' Motorway Cops'' with the officers. Standing on the north direction

hard shoulder A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane, is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side in countries which drive on the right, and on the left side in countries which drive on the left. Many wid ...

of the motorway, the police were being apprised of the situation when, without warning, Ursula broke free and ran into the side of an oncoming

Mercedes-Benz Actros The Mercedes-Benz Actros is a heavy-duty truck introduced by Mercedes-Benz at the 1996 Commercial Vehicle IAA in Hanover, Germany as the replacement for the SK. It is normally used for long-distance haulage, heavy duty distribution haulage a ...

2546 articulated lorry travelling at around 56 mph (90 km/h). Sabina then quickly followed her into the road and was hit head-on by a

Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. History ...

travelling at high speed. Both survived. Ursula was immobilised as the lorry had crushed her legs, and Sabina spent fifteen minutes unconscious. The pair were treated by paramedics; however, Ursula resisted medical aid by spitting, scratching, and screaming. Ursula told the policemen restraining her, "I recognise you – I know you're not real", and Sabina, now conscious, shouted "They're going to steal your organs". To the surprise of the police, Sabina got to her feet, despite attempts to persuade her to stay on the ground. Sabina started screaming for help and calling for the police even though they were present, then hit an officer in the face, before running into traffic on the other side of the motorway. Emergency workers and several members of the public caught up with her, restrained, and carried her to a waiting ambulance, at which point she was handcuffed and sedated. Given the similarities in their behaviours, a suicide pact or drug use was quickly suspected. Ursula was taken to hospital by air ambulance. Sabina was taken to hospital where, despite her ordeal and an apparent lack of concern over her sister's injuries, she soon became calmer and controlled, and was released five hours later. In police custody she remained relaxed, and while being processed, she told an officer, "We say in Sweden that an accident rarely comes alone. Usually at least one more follows – maybe two." On 19 May 2008, Sabina was released from court without a full psychiatric evaluation having pleaded guilty to the charges of trespass on the motorway and hitting a police officer. The court sentenced her to one day in custody which she had been deemed to have served having spent a full night in police custody.

The killing of Glenn Hollinshead

Leaving court, Sabina began to wander the streets of

, trying to locate her sister in hospital, and carrying her possessions in a clear plastic bag given to her by police. She was also wearing her sister's green top. At 7:00 pm, two local men spotted Sabina while walking their dog on Christchurch Street, Fenton. One of the men was 54-year-old Glenn Hollinshead, a self-employed welder, qualified paramedic, and former

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

airman, and the other was his friend, Peter Molloy. Sabina appeared friendly and stroked the dog as the three struck up a conversation. Although friendly, Sabina appeared to be behaving nervously, which worried Molloy. Sabina asked the two men for directions to any nearby

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s or hotels. Hollinshead took pity on her and instead offered to take her back to his house at nearby Duke Street. Sabina accepted and relaxed as she began to relate how she was trying to locate her hospitalised sister. Back at the house, over drinks, her odd behaviour continued as she constantly got up and looked out of the window, leading Molloy to assume that she had run away from an abusive partner. She appeared

paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

too, offering the men cigarettes, only to quickly snatch them out of their mouths, claiming they may be poisoned. Shortly before midnight, Molloy left and Sabina stayed the night. The next day around midday, Hollinshead called his brother regarding local hospitals in order to locate Sabina's sister Ursula. At 7:40pm, while a meal was being prepared, Hollinshead left the house to ask a neighbour for tea bags and then went back inside. One minute later he staggered back outside, now bleeding, and told him "She stabbed me", before collapsing to the ground and quickly dying from his injuries. His last words before he died, allegedly, were, "Look after my dog for me." As the neighbour dialled

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...

, Sabina fled the premises, and was caught on the run by nearby CCTV. She ran out of the house with a hammer, periodically hitting herself over the head with it. A passing motorist saw this and decided to tackle her in an attempt to take control of the hammer. While wrestling with him, Sabina screamed and took a roof tile out of her pocket and struck him on the back of the head with it, stunning him temporarily. By this time paramedics had found her and gave chase. The pursuit ended at

Heron Cross Bottle Oven, Heron Cross Geograph-497312-by-Phil-Eptlett

A50. Breaking both ankles and fracturing her skull in the fall, she was taken to hospital.

Trial

On 6 June 2008 Sabina was arrested while recovering at

University Hospital of North Staffordshire Royal Stoke University Hospital (formerly the University Hospital of North Staffordshire) is a teaching and research hospital at Hartshill in the English county of Staffordshire. It lies in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, near the border with New ...

, and was discharged in a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

on 11 September 2008, at which point she was taken into custody and charged with murder the same day. Ursula was also released from hospital in September, and relocated uneventfully back to Sweden, and then the US. The trial was scheduled for February 2009, but was adjourned after the court encountered difficulties in obtaining her medical records from Sweden. The trial was then scheduled to start on 1 September 2009. Sabina

pleaded guilty In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

with

on 2 September 2009, having stabbed her victim five times with a kitchen knife. At no point during her interrogation or during the trial did she explain her actions, only replying "

no comment No comment is a phrase used as a response to journalistic inquiries which the respondent does not wish to answer. Public figures may decline to comment on issues they are questioned or have nothing to say about the issue at the time. ''No commen ...

" to extensive police questioning. Similarly, at no time was the video from the M6 used in evidence in the court. Both the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

and defence claimed that Sabina was

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

at the time of the killing, although she had become sane again by the time of her trial. The

defence counsel In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a s ...

in the trial claimed that Eriksson was a "secondary" sufferer of

, influenced by the presence or perceived presence of her twin sister, the "primary" sufferer. The court also heard that she had suffered from a rare psychiatric disorder which made her hear voices, but could not interpret what they said, as well as an alternative theory that she had suffered from acute polymorphic

delusional disorder Delusional disorder is a mental illness in which a person has delusions, but with no accompanying prominent hallucinations, thought disorder, mood disorder, or significant flattening of affect.American Psychiatric Association. (2013). ''Diagnosti ...

. Her plea was accepted by the prosecution at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

on 2 September 2010. Justice Saunders concluded that Sabina had a "low" level of culpability for her actions:Sabina was sentenced to five years in prison and was sent to Bronzefield Women's Prison, where she turned to Christianity. Having already spent 439 days in custody before sentencing, this left her first eligible for release in 2011.

Aftermath

Many questions were left unanswered. Some called for an investigation into the way the criminal justice system handled the matter, including Peter Molloy and MP for Stoke South

Rob Flello Robert Charles Douglas Flello (born 14 January 1966) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent South from 2005 to 2017. He lost his seat at the 2017 general election to Conservat ...

. Glenn Hollinshead's brother Garry was critical of the justice system which he viewed as enabling the murder, stating:

Media

* ''2010 – Madness in the Fast Lane'' is a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

documentary, first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 10 August. The footage on the

of the two women jumping into the passing traffic had previously been broadcast on '' Motorway Cops'', but this was the first time the rest of the story had been told. * 2012 – ''A Madness Shared By Two'' , David Cann * 2016 – "Case 17 - The Eriksson Twins." ''

Casefile True Crime Podcast ''Casefile True Crime Podcast'', or simply ''Casefile'', is an Australian crime podcast that first aired in January 2016 and is hosted by an Australian man who remains anonymous. The podcast is released on a Sunday (EST) for three consecuti ...

'' * 2017 - "58 - Some Quiet Sunday," ''

My Favorite Murder ''My Favorite Murder'' is a weekly true crime comedy podcast hosted by American comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. The first episode was released in January 2016. The podcast debuted at #25 on the iTunes podcast charts and peaked at ...

'' podcast * 2019 - "The Eriksson Twins," ''Mr. Bunker's Conspiracy Time Podcast'' * 2019 - "Episode 46 - Two Tales of Twisted Sisters," ''Creep Street'' podcast * 2019 - "Episode 22 - The Eriksson Twins" ''Cult Liter'' podcast * 2020 - "Episode 13: Tangents & True Crime - The Eriksson Twins", '' Ladies & Tangents Apple Podcast'' * 2020 - "Episode 433: The Murderous Madness of the Twins Eriksson", ''

The Last Podcast on the Left ''The Last Podcast on the Left'' is a weekly podcast on the Last Podcast Network featuring comedian and podcast host Ben Kissel, podcast producer and researcher Marcus Parks, and comedian and actor Henry Zebrowski, all of whom are longtime frien ...

'' * 2021 - "Season 5, Episode 43" - ''They Walk Among us Podcast'' *2021 - "Episode 94" - ''Scared to Death Podcast'' *2021 - Season 5, Episode 20 - "The Madness of Twins", ''Seeing Red Podcast'' *2021 - "Season 2, Episode 11 - The Story of the Eriksson Twins", ''Truth Be Told Podcast'' *2021 - Episode 108 - "Venom, Theatres, Parsi Food, Shared Psychosis", ''The Internet Said So''

References

External links

''Madness in the Fast Lane''
official BBC page
Casefile True Crime Podcast - Case 17: The Eriksson Twins
- 30 April 2016
''Women dice with death on M6''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 25 September 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eriksson, Ursula and Sabina 1967 births History of Stoke-on-Trent Identical twins Living people Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Swedish expatriates in the United Kingdom Swedish female criminals Swedish people convicted of manslaughter Swedish people imprisoned abroad Swedish twins 2008 murders in the United Kingdom Sibling duos