"Did a Twin Telepathic Bond Lead to a Stabbing? A Sister's Shocking Encounter on the M6"

IT is one of the strangest cases in modern British criminal history, baffling police and psychologists alike.

When twin sisters threw themselves in front of traffic on the M6, in a bizarre double suicide mission, it started a spiralling chain of events that led to the brutal stabbing of an innocent man.

Sabina Eriksson (L), and her sister Ursula (R) running into the path of traffic on the M6Credit: Handout Sabina runs into oncoming traffic on the motorwayCredit: Mentorn Media/ BBC Sabina was eventually restrained after causing chaosCredit: Mentorn Media/ BBC

Why did the sisters seemingly try to kill themselves on the motorway? And what caused the catastrophic breakdown that left a man dead?

And psychologists believe it could have been a case of a rare psychological phenomenon called ‘folie a deux’ – or the madness of two – where one sister could have ‘caught’ a mental illness from the other.

Now a new , Twisted Sisters: Madness & Manslaughter, tries to unpick what led to the tragic chain of events – with testament from those who met them, including a doctor that treated Sabina three times and a man who spent time with her on the eve of her tragic crime.

In May 2008, were spotted by National Highways officers wandering down the central reservation of the M6.

They had travelled from Sabina’s home in and boarded a coach to before getting off at Keele Services and acting erratically.

Police intercepted the women – all whilst being filmed for the series Motorway Cops – meaning the horrifying next moments would be captured on camera.

Suddenly the twins threw themselves into traffic right in front of the officers – Ursula being dragged under the wheels of a lorry and Sabina catapulted into the air after being hit by a car.

Motorway Cops cameraman David Rea says: “In all my career, I’d never filmed anything like this before, or after”.

The police and eye-witnesses naturally thought both women were dead or gravely injured.

Dr Latif Hussein was one of the emergency doctors to arrive on the scene – in what would be the first of three occasions he would come into contact with Sabina over the coming days.

He tells The Sun: “I got the call to say pedestrians had been reported knocked down on the M6, which in itself was unusual.

“It was very chaotic, there were lots of police and other emergency crews. I got directed to Sabina who had been hit by the car. She appeared to have no obvious injuries and she was getting quite agitated and trying to fight people off.

“As I ascertained she didn’t have any life-threatening injuries I then moved on to the other casualty (Ursula). Both her legs were completely smashed up, multiple fractures of the lower legs.”

What happened next shocked everyone. Despite being hit by a car at speed, Sabina miraculously jumped up, punched a police officer and made a run for it across the opposite carriageway.

Eye-witness Richard Cussons, who helped restrain Sabina, says: “She had been hit by two motor vehicles, been unconscious for ten minutes, punched an officer with incredible force. The overriding impression that I had was that she had superhuman strength.”

While Ursula was air-lifted to hospital for emergency surgery, Sabina was arrested and held in custody.

Eerily, her behaviour seemed comparatively calm as she laughed, joked and even flirted with police officers.

Folie à deux, the madness of two

Dr Latif Hussein was called to the police station to assess her condition.

In September 2009, Sabina pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibilityCredit: BBC Ursula was hit by a truck during the bizarre suicide attemptCredit: Channel 5

“I was on call for the police and quite amazed to see her there,” he says. “I was there to assess that she was fit to be detained and fit for interview. And there was no particular suggestion that she had any ongoing mental health issues.

“And at this stage we hadn’t seen any footage of the actual incident and events leading up to it.”

But a chilling comment she made while in custody has stayed with the medic: “We say in that an accident rarely comes alone. Usually at least one more follows – maybe two.”

We say in Sweden that an accident rarely comes alone. Usually at least one more follows – maybe two

Sabina

Sabina was released a few days later. With nowhere to go, she met a stranger, 54-year-old Glenn Hollinshead, who, concerned for her wellbeing, offered her a place to stay.

The next day he was found stabbed to death and Sabina went on the run before jumping off a footbridge over the A50.

Sabina had bumped into Glenn Hollinshead and Peter Molloy, who had been drinking at the Royal Oak Pub, after her release from custody.

Speaking in 2010, Peter Molloy said: “It was time to go home. We started walking up Christchurch Street, and as we were walking up, there was a woman.

“She stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the street, wearing this big bubble jacket with all her stuff in a plastic bag. She seemed a little distressed. Lost. Certainly not very focused.

“We started up conversation. Her sister was in hospital and she was trying to find her. And she said, ‘I need to find a bed and breakfast.’ And Glenn said, ‘well, there’s nothing around here for you to stay at, come back to mine. We’ll have a bite to eat and then try to locate your sister. We will find you somewhere to stay.”

But back at the house Sabina started acting strangely, getting paranoid and looking behind the curtains.

There was this growing fear inside of me thinking, who is this woman?

Peter Molloy

Peter explains: “There was this growing fear inside of me thinking, who is this woman? She’s hiding from someone.

“She gets out her cigarettes and she offers them round to myself and Glenn. We take one and just as we were about to light up, she just snatches them quite furiously and says, they might be poisoned, you can’t have them.

“I was taken back by that, like, what? Your cigarettes are poisoned? And this was a pack of cigarettes that she’d been smoking from all night.

“This is beyond weird now, something’s not right about this woman. Glenn was quite relaxed and comfortable with it. I think he was just dismissing it as quirky. I personally just wanted to get out of that situation as quickly and as calmly as possible.”

Peter left Glenn and Sabina alone in the house. The next morning Glenn went to borrow some teabags off a neighbour but, when he returned, Sabina attacked him with a kitchen knife, stabbing him in the chest and throat.

Glenn Hollinshead was stabbed to death by SabinaCredit: BBC Dr Latif Hussein treated Sabina on separate occasionsCredit: Channel 5

Glenn stumbled back to his neighbour who phoned an ambulance while Sabina made a run for it – taking a hammer.

Eye-witnesses reported seeing her hit herself in the head with the hammer, leaving her covered with blood.

The paramedic crew on the way to the stabbing came across her and stopped to try to help.

But Sabina ran and jumped off a bridge onto the road below, sustaining leg and head injuries.

Dr Latif Hussein was one of the medics called to the incident – and was shocked to discover it was the same lady he had treated on the M6 and seen in police custody just days earlier.

Fact is stranger than fiction really. It is one of those things you can’t imagine happening

Dr Latif Hussein

He says: “Fact is stranger than fiction really. It is one of those things you can’t imagine happening.”

Police charged Sabina with Glenn’s murder and forensic psychiatrist Carol McDaniel was instructed to produce a report about her .

She explains: “The defence expert felt Sabina was in fact suffering from a serious mental health issue and that Sabina Eriksson’s behaviour was due to the presence and the influence of her sister. And their diagnosis was folie à deux, a French term, meaning the madness of two.

“One person would have what we call the primary diagnosis of a true mental illness. And then because of their intimacy, they could convince that other person to think just as they were thinking. It’s almost as if you would consider it being contagious. In the case of the sisters, there was an indication that Ursula was the primary patient.

When the mind takes leave of reality…

Dr McDaniel met Sabina to assess her personally.

Sabina jumped from a bridge after killing Glenn HollinsheadCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk

“Prior to what had happened to Mr Hollinshead it seemed that she was having persecutory delusions, hearing voices, thought that she was in danger. And this was made clear to her by Ursula. And that is when she was convinced that they needed to seek refuge.

“They considered escaping together one way or the other, like a pact. What was said to me by Miss Eriksson was that they were both convinced that they had to act in this way. And that by dying together, that would be one way of escaping whatever perceived danger that they had imagined.

“After the incident it appeared that Sabina continued suffering from a paranoid delusion, thinking that someone is out to harm her. When Mr Hollinshead went out to speak to his neighbour, it is possible that she might have felt they were plotting in some way. If she was having persecutory delusions, it would give her a sense of fear, a feeling that she needed to escape to protect herself, and also to protect her sister.”

Although Sabina and Ursula had a somewhat traumatic childhood, there was no sign of previous mental health difficulties.

“There were two diagnoses. The defence believed that it was folie à deux, but in my opinion, she was suffering from acute polymorphic psychotic disorder. Where the person’s mind simply takes leave of reality. It could have lasted days. And the presence and influence of her sister was more the final straw that caused her to have a psychotic break. In the end, it did not matter who made what diagnosis. The important thing was whether we felt that she was operating under the influence of a mental disorder at the time of the incident. The conclusions of both experts were the same.

Two diagnoses, one conclusion

Prosecutors believed that Sabina was in the process of hurting herself with the knife when Glenn came in, tried to stop her and was then fatally injured himself.

It is thought Sabina has now returned to SwedenCredit: Channel 5

She eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to five years minus the time spent on remand.

Glenn’s family believe if Sabina had been sectioned under the mental health act after the motorway incident then he would still be alive.

His brother Garry says: “One of the policemen that was there said that she should be sectioned. Then they could have kept her under observation. They could have brought in psychologists, psychiatrists.

“I don’t hold Sabina responsible, although she physically was responsible for my brother’s death. I think that the police are far more culpable. Sabina, I don’t have any malice against.”

But Dr McDaniel says the nature of her illness meant she slipped through the net.

“In the case of Miss Eriksson, she showed intermittent signs of psychosis. There were times when she acted bizarrely, and there were times when she acted normally,” she says.

“But because of the fluctuating nature of the illness, then things sort of slip through the net.”

Staffordshire Police said: “Whist in custody, Sabina had a mental health assessment under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act and was seen by a psychiatric consultant, a doctor and an approved social worker. They did not section Sabina or consider that she required this.”

It is thought Sabina has now returned to Sweden, while Ursula is believed to be part of a close knit Christian community in the . There have been no new reports of criminal or mental health episodes for either sister.

Twisted Sisters: Madness & Manslaughter airs on Monday December 8 at 10pm & 11.05 on 5