Mysterious incident on the M6 motorway with twins | Forensic Files

[Music] on the 17th of May 2008 made away patrol officers cope in Finlayson responded to
a call that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle on the m6 motorway near the city of stoke-on-trent in England
expecting the worst the two officers were surprised when they arrived on scene to see two pedestrians stinging
calmly and uninjured on the shoulder of the motorway it didn't look like much was going on at all but within a few
minutes the seemingly calm situation took a frightening twist [Music] hardly anything is known about the lives
of twin sisters Sabina and Ursula Eriksson now I born in Sweden on the 3rd of November 1967 they have an older
sister Mona and an older brother Bjorn whilst at school the twins were destroyed by some is a little bit odd
they kept mostly to themselves and at times I had a tendency to be violent we know that in the year 2000 Ursula was
living in the United States and Sabina was living in Ireland with her partner and two children nothing is really known
about their lives though from the year 2000 to the U 2008 it's believed the Sabina may have spent some time in the
United States with Ursula and that her son even moved to the United States to live with her so for a period of time
for what reason we don't know there is no evidence that either Sabina or Ursula had been treated for mental health
issues in 2008 Ursula visited Sabina in Ireland it's not known if this was just a catch-up visit or if there was a
specific reason for the visit but what we do know is that during the visit the twins were absolutely inseparable they
formed an extremely tight bond and suddenly in the early hours of the 16th of May 2008 without telling anyone of
their intentions Sabina and ursula left Ireland the twins when Exene the next day the
17th of May in Liverpool England it's believed they traveled to England from Island via ferry the twins entered st.
Anne's Street police station in Liverpool and Sabina reported concerns about the safety of her children
why Sabina an Ursula travelled to England to report this when the children and her partner were back in Ireland is
anyone's guess Liverpool police contacted the police back in Ireland who did a check on
Sabinas partner and the children everything was ok Sabinas partner told the irish police that Sabina had taken
off after they had a fight Irish police said Sabina Anosike would get in touch with them if they had any fears or
concerns upon their return to honor after leaving sunny and Street police station the twins boarded a national
Express coach that was headed for London they boarded the coach about 11:30 a.m.
the twins each other back and I refused to put them in the baggage area of the coach they insisted on holding onto the
bags just after 1:00 p.m. the coach stopped at kill services which is a service station on the m6 motorway
details of why the coach stopped der bit sketchy there are reports that the coach
stopped for a scheduled driver change there's also a report saying that the only reason the coach stopped was
because the twins were behaving erratically and causing trouble either way the twins got off the coach despite
the fact that wasn't a scheduled rest stop the driver was suspicious of them and ended up refusing to allow them back
on the coach because the twins wouldn't allow him to search their bags the driver told the employee in the service
station Melissa Dutton that he wasn't letting the twins back on and basically told her it was her problem now she
could look after it so Melissa kept an eye on the twins as well she got suspicious of their behavior the twins
were holding their bags tightly to their chests like their lives were dependent on not letting go that combined with the
way they are talking and moving around it looks like they were plotting something their behavior actually led
Melissa to think that maybe they were even carrying bombs in the bags so Melissa called the police
police did attend shortly after and spoke to the twins but after checking the mirror the officers didn't think
anything was wrong they told me Lisa the twins were going to make their way to London and there are no issues the
police left the twins with a phone number for the coach company so they could arrange to get on the next coach
but instead of getting on another coach the twins started walking along the m6 motorway the m6 motorway is covered by
video cameras which are monitored at the highway agency's Control Centre in Birmingham about 3:20 p.m. the twins
were spotted on the cameras walking along the central reservation of the motorway there was a barrier on each
side of them but it was still dangerous not a place for pedestrians a highway agency patrol unit was dispatched to get
the twins off the motorway Highway Agency officers aren't police their role is to basically ensure there are no
issues on the motorways to insure traffic is flowing freely and there are no incidents that could put anyone at
risk if there is an accident that will sort out the traffic management plan put in roadblocks diversions things like
that they don't pull people over or issue speeding fines so highway agency car was
sent to get the twins out of the central reservation and off to safety but when the twins saw the highway agency car
they jumped out of the central reservation and onto the motorway in front of oncoming traffic cars had to
brake hard and swerve to avoid running the twins over Sabina actually got clipped by a car and got knocked over
the incident was captured on video police and paramedics were immediately called to attempt the fear being Sabina
could have serious injuries but she didn't she was perfectly fine her and Ursula made their way off the motorway
and onto the shoulder police officers cope and Finlayson responded to the call and it just so happened that they had a
camera crew with them who were filming for BBC's television show motorway cops when they arrived the twins were still
standing on the shoulder of the motorway they were speaking with the two Highway
Agency officers that first attended everybody was calm and there were no issues at all the paramedics hadn't
arrived yet but while the looks of it they wouldn't be required everything was calm and cool
with no sign of anybody being injured officers cope and Finlayson started talking with one of the highway agency
officers to find out what was going on the twins were a short distance away standing next to the other highway
agency officer everybody was still standing on the motorway shoulder whilst the highway agency officer was still
briefing the police this happened we've got two possible Basil's the twins were standing there
calmly nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all then suddenly for no apparent reason
Ursula walked out onto the motorway the highway agency officer nearby did his best but he only managed to grab part of
a jacket which she easily slipped out of Ursula ran straight under the road and directly into the side of a 40-ton truck
the truck ran straight over the top of Sabina then made her move running out onto the motorway as well she threw
herself into the path of an oncoming car she went straight over the front of the
car smashing into the windscreen denting the bonnet and the roof before being flung up into the air and then slamming
hard under the road it's incredible footage a link will be available in the show notes so you can
see your initial response is that there is no chance they would have survived that
but by some miracle they both did both of them laid motionless on the road knocked unconscious by the impacts but
they were alive the motorway was immediately shut down and police went to work trying to render aid while still
waiting for the paramedics to arrive Oscar Taylor 33 on arrival both females have ran out into the carriageway
first female has been hit by HDV in Lane six serious injury second female has been hit by others being ladylike soon
serious casualties women around officer Finlayson rushed at her saw who had been
run over by the truck she had massive leg injuries suffering compound fractures where police love where to
help it's okay it's all right yeah I'm like what the hell were they running for okay so capture was it right
leg Ursula then started screaming out saying she wanted the police even though it was
a police officer kneeling next to it she got quite aggressive and even started spitting and chlorine at officer Mason
mines very aggressive suspected athlete she is very badly injured what's going no come on you put your heads harm down
we are the police we are the police calm down yeah and the doctors enroute wait it's okay Conger she appears very
disoriented paramedics arrive shortly after they made their way first to Ursula and help calm their dinner
bringing her under control meanwhile officer coat was with Sabina Sabina was laying calmly until suddenly
stay stay stay they've got cholera scintillator stick on it right don't get going anywhere
okay just chill chill okay the SoCo Miller trying to make sure you're okay [Music]
Sabina stood up officer Koch was trying to get her to lay back down trying to calm India Sabina started to pull away
from officer cope and then she turned around and punched her in the face knocking over the ground Sabina then
jumped over the central reservation and ran onto the other side of the motorway traffic was still moving she was lucky
she didn't get hit again officer Finlay Singh gave chase luckily the drivers could see what was going on
and the traffic came to a stop officer Finlayson tried to get hold of Sabina but Sabina took off her jacket and
started jumping up and down box you're shaping up for a fire calm down calm down calm down calm down calm down calm
down the whole calm down officer coat along with members of the public and other police who had arrived
had to assist officer Finlayson to bring Sabine her under control it took about six people in total but even with that
many people on her she was still resisting and putting up a good fight her strength was described as inhuman
[Music] double yanked up from behind we are the police like a sister also started calling out
for the police surrounded by even when she was finally restrained paramedics still went over to treat her as she was
still aggressive and still trying to fight they ended up having mr. data nobody had any idea what was going on it
was such bizarre behavior the likes of which the police on scene had never encountered before they believed Ursula
and Sabina were most likely off their heads on drugs they also wondered if what they had just witnessed was the
result of some sort of suicide pact the Twins have made a search of their bags beyond multiple mobile phones and a
passport for one twin but no idea at all for the other [Music] both twins were transported to hospital
Ursula was in a critical condition but Sabina was only suffering minor injuries and she was released after just five
hours incredibly a full psychiatric evaluation wasn't conducted she was seen by police doctor a psych doctor and a
social worker and they all deemed that there was nothing wrong with her and she was fit to be released once she
was released from hospital police took her into their custody and transported her back to the station
the screaming violent person throwing yourself in front of traffic and fighting police was gone Sabina was now
calm no trouble at all it was that much of a change in behavior the police transported her from the hospital
without handcuffs she sat in the back seat of their car calm and totally unrestrained once they got back to the
police station Sabina even started laughing and joking around with the police part of what happens when
processing a prisoner is the police ask a whole heap of questions about the prisoners history in their health it's a
duty of care so police ask if they suffer from any illnesses if they require medication that sort of thing
they also ask if the prisoner has ever tried to harm themselves when Sabina was asked this question she said no she
hadn't whilst she was being processed Sabina said these words which would go on to be
quite chilly we say always in Sweden that an accident really comes alone usually at least one more follows
perhaps - Sabina was charged with trespassing on a motorway and with assaulting a police officer
she had no previous criminal record at no time during the process did Sabina ask how her sister was she didn't
mention her at all she was very calm and casual about the whole thing it was almost as if nothing had happened there
were no drugs found on Sabina or in her bag same with Ursula there was no evidence of drug use at all as Ursula
was in a critical condition at hospital a blood sample was taken from her sure that something would show up medical
staff and police were surprised to find zero alcohol and zero traces of drugs in
her system a blood sample wasn't taken from Sabina suffering only minor injury medical staff didn't have to take any
and only being charged with trespassing and assault the police had no power to order the medical staff to take a blood
sample but given the negative result of Ursula's test it's assumed Sabinas tests
also would have come back negative she was kept in custody and appeared at the Fenton Magistrates Court two days later
the 19th of May 2008 she pled guilty to both charges she was sentenced to one day in custody which she had already
served so she was released on that evening of Sabinas release the 19th of May 2008 Sabina crossed paths
with 54 year old Glenn Hollinshead and his friend Peter Malloy they were walking home after having a few beers at
a local pub Glenn also had his dog with him they were walking along christchurch
street him fenton when they noticed Sabina standing on the other side of the road Peter says Sabina stuck out like a
sore thumb she seemed stressed them worried and gave the impression she was lost she was
carrying her belongings in a plastic bag Sabina shouted across the road at Glen and Peter saying it was a nice dog they
had Glen and Peter made their way over and struck up a conversation with her Sabina mentioned to them that her sister
was in hospital and that she was trying to find her the conversation went on a little further before Sabina said she
needed to find a bed-and-breakfast to stay Oh Glen told her there was really nowhere around the area where she could
stay but she was welcome to go back to ecr's he said he would give us something to
eat and then they could try and work out where her sister was and then they could
organise somewhere for her to stay peter says this was just in Glen's character he was a good Samaritan and liked to
help people in need he was a very warm and friendly type of person Sabina accepted the offer
she then seemed to open up a bit more and become warmer and friendlier they got back to Glen's house and sat down
and had a few drinks together when Glen and Peter asked about Sabinas sister her demeanour would change they would
either be an awkward silence or she would quickly change the subject Sabeena also started to display some odd
paranoid behavior that would be sitting down talking and then she would get up and walk over to the window pull the
shades up stare up and down the street before snapping the shades back and sitting down again she did this a few
times as if she was paranoid somebody was watching then she got out her cigarettes and asked Lennon Peter if
they wanted one they both accepted as I'll both about to light up Sabina quickly snatched the cigarettes back off
them and said they might be poisoned you can't have them despite the fact Sabina
had been smoking from this particular packet of cigarettes all night Peter was starting to feel very uneasy
it could tell something wasn't quite right with Sabina Glenn on the other hand didn't seem concerned at all he was
kicking back relaxed and comfortable he kept telling Peter not to worry saying Sabina was just a bit quirky nothing to
be concerned about but Peter couldn't get out of there soon enough he left the house and went home leaving Sabina and
Glenn there by themselves perhaps what was most intriguing is that the spot being run over by a car
flung up into the air and slamming under the road to heavy impacts knocking her unconscious only two days before
Sabina wasn't complaining of any pain at all she seemed completely unaffected around lunchtime the next day
Glenn rang his brother Paul who worked at the local hospital he was trying to find out some more information on Ursula
Paul said Glenn was his usual cheerful self no alarm bells at all he could hear Sabinas voice in the background
Glenn explained to his brother what had happened and said they were just up there any information they could get on
earth while about 7:40 p.m. that evening Glenn walked outside and asked the neighbour frankbooth if he had any spare
teabags Frank was outside washing his vehicle and tar Glen that when he finished up he
would go in and grab some Glen thanked him and walked back inside his house but only one minute later he
was back outside staggering suffering from four stab wounds including one to the heart
he said the Frank of being stabbed she stabbed me he then collapsed to the ground Frank
immediately dialed emergency services which is triple naught in the UK as this was happening Glen asked Frank to look
after his dog he then passed away meanwhile Sabina left Glen's house and ran up the street carrying a hammer she
was in a completely deranged state hitting herself over the head with the hammer this caught the attention of a
passing motorist Joshua who saw what she was doing and saw that her hair was matted with blood she also had blood
over the front of her jacket Joshua got out of his car and tried to wrestle the hammer from Sabina Sabinas struggle with
him and seemed to be in an absolute rage Sabina got the better of Joshua by hitting him in the back of the head with
a broken piece of roof tile that she was carrying in her pocket Sabina got away Joshua saw two paramedic vehicles
driving after their they had obviously responded to the call and driven across the beam
Sabina continued running trying to get away from the paramedics she ran into a bridge at Heron cross above the 850
roadway Sabina climbed the railing and jumps straight off onto the road below the fall was about thirty feet which is
about ten meters she broke both of her ankles and fractured her skull but again she survived she was transported to
hospital for treatment meanwhile police examined the crime scene at Glen's house
it looked as though Glenn who was in the process of preparing a meal when he had
been stabbed Sabinas DNA profile was found on the kitchen knife used to stab Glenn though blood-stained jacket and a
ring she was wearing contained matching DNA from when Sabina remained in hospital until September upon being
discharged from hospital she was charged with the murder of Glenn Hollinshead Ursula was also discharged from hospital
in September but she wasn't charged with any offenses she was allowed to return to Sweden Sabina refused to answer any
questions at all every question that was asked of her she replied no comment so we have no idea exactly what happened
in Glenn's house that day or even there not before after Peter had left Sabina pleaded not guilty to murder in Detroit
was set for February 2009 but it was postponed due to issues getting Sabinas medical records the trial was
rescheduled for September 2009 but the case never ended up going to trial instead she was able to play guilty to a
lesser charge prior to the trial Sabina was assessed by two forensic psychiatrists one acting
for the defense and the other one acting for the prosecution they both reached the same conclusion
Sabina was mentally ill at the time she killed Glenn Colin said but they had different opinions on what the mental
illness was the defense diagnosed Sabina with induced delusional disorder a basic
meaning is madness into people so what they were saying is that one person suffers from a psychotic illness and
then the second person becomes affected by it and they end up taking on the psychosis as well for example Ursula
runs out onto the motorway into the path of a truck so Sabina follows both conditions were extremely rare and
Glen's family wanted to know why Sabina was released from hospital so soon and allowed to go free after the motorway
incident if she was suffering from what was now determined to be a psychotic episode
[Music] prior to Sabina is released from hospital after the motorway incident she
was seen by police surgeon a psychiatrist and a social worker these aren't police officers they are
medical professionals and they all came to the conclusion that Sabina displayed no obvious signs of any mental or
psychological illness they all concluded she was fitting well to be released they
didn't have the benefit of seeing the footage when they came to that conclusion but they would have had
detailed accounts from the officers who were there of what went on it's pretty amazing that they did come to that
conclusion a couple of explanations are being thrown up if she was in fact suffering from a puff of madness then
the psychotic behaviour can come and go quickly so it may have been gone momentarily at
the time she was assessed another theory is that maybe the sedation she was given
on the motorway was still having a bit of a calming effect on her at the time she was assessed either way the system
failed the murder charge was dropped and Sabina was allowed to enter a plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of
diminished responsibility the judge accepting the Sabina had suffered from a rare and temporary form of insanity at
the time of the murder during the court process Sabina maintained her silence about what had happened she didn't utter
a single word about the murder of Glen Hollenshead or the motorway incident no one had any idea what the twins were
even doing in England in the first place they have never given a reason the judge
had a difficult time determining exactly what diagnosis of Sabina was the correct
one as a strong case could be made for both it was made more difficult by the fact that neither of the forensic
psychiatrists had assessed oh sorry maybe if she had a been assessed they could have gotten some piece of
information that could have shed a bit more light on things another issue arose with the case when
both the defense and the prosecution agreed that although Sabina was mentally ill at the time of the murder
she had now made a full recovery so what that meant was that the judge couldn't send her to a secure mental health
hospital because she was no longer mentally ill so instead he wanted to give Sabina a sentence with no fixed
release date to make sure she would only be freed when it was safe to do so but he could only do that if Sabina was
considered a risk to the public and both the defense and the prosecution psychiatrists agreed that they
considered Sabina to only be a low-risk with that the judge said his hands were tired given she was determined to be
low-risk by law the judge had to give her a fixed-term prison sentence with no supervision or monitoring requirements
after her release he's sentenced to five years Joe Glenn's family considered Sabinas diagnosis to be a pretty
convenient one a quick and easy way to deal with the case because really Nolan had any idea what was going on it was so
bizarre here is what the judge Justice Saunders had to say at sentencing I understand that this sentence will seem
entirely inadequate to the relatives of the deceased however I've sentenced on the basis that
the reason for the killing was the mental illness and therefore the culpability of the defendant was low and
therefore the sentence i've passed is designed to protect the public it is not designed to reflect the grief the
relatives have suffered or to measure the value of mr. Holland's Edd's life no sentence that I could pass could do
that it is a sentence which I hope fairly measures a truly tragic event Sabeena only served two and a half years
of her sentence and then she was released and she was allowed to return to sweet just like her life before these
incidents very little is known about Sabina since her release we see the condition she was thought to be
suffering from there is a possibility Sabina could relapse into another episode of insanity in the future
[Music]

Case 17: The Eriksson Twins

On the 17th of May 2008, two motorway patrol officers attended to a call that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle on the M6 motorway, near the city Stoke-on-Trent, in England.

Expecting the worst, the two officers were surprised when they arrived to see two pedestrians standing calmly and uninjured on the shoulder of the motorway. It didn’t look like much was going on at all…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas

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Brief Summary

Twin sisters Sabina and Ursula Eriksson engage in bizarre behavior leading to a tragic murder and questions about mental health assessments.

Key points

The Twins' Frightening Encounter. Sabina and Ursula Eriksson's bizarre behavior leads to a shocking incident on the motorway.
A Good Samaritan's Tragic Fate. Glenn Hollinshead offers help to Sabina, only to meet a tragic end.
Sabina's Release and Plea. Sabina was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter after the murder charge was dropped.
Judge's Sentencing Statement. The judge explained the reasoning behind Sabina's sentence, emphasizing her mental illness.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

An accident really comes alone; usually at least one more follows.

Sabina's chilling words during police processing.

18:00WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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