Casefile Archives 6: The Eriksson Twins

Prime Video offers the best in entertainment. The end of the world continues with Fallout 2. A global phenomenon, inbegred by Prime. I heard you about what to do in this situation. Look at the epic end of the unwritten story of The Witches of Oz. Buy or buy? Wicked for good now. I'm taking you to see The Wizard. There's no going back. So what you also look, Prime Video. Here you look at everything. Prime is advised, especially to buy or buy. Inhoud can be advertised 18+. All the rules are used to be used. As we enter Casefile's 10th year, we've created a new run of special bonus content. Casefile Archives, a series of releases revisiting the earliest years of the show along with previously unreleased premium episodes. This is completely additional content and will not replace new episodes. We'll still be back on March 7 with brand new cases, and we'll be releasing the same number of new episodes this year as we did last year. Casefile Archives is simply a way to mark the 10th year, revisit some older episodes, and to offer previously subscriber-exclusive episodes to the wider audience for the first time. For the re-release episodes, we have fully edited, polished, re-recorded, recorded and freshly produced them from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not full rewrites. Our aim isn't to reshape the cases or alter the original storytelling, but to preserve them as they were first told while giving them the level of production they didn't have back in 2016. Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure remains faithful to the originals. Because of this, these episodes may sound a little different to our recent work. Today's re-release is The Ericsson Twins, the 17th Casefile episode ever produced. On May 17 2008, police were called to the M6 motorway near Stoke-on-Trant after reports that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle. When officers arrived, two women stood calmly on the shoulder, uninjured, composed and seemingly cooperative. But within minutes, the situation took a sudden and terrifying turn. Originally released on April 30 2016, this episode has been re-recorded and newly produced as part of Casefile Archives. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. On Saturday May 17 2008, motorway patrol officers Cope and Finlayson responded to a call that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle on the M6 motorway near the English city of Stoke-on-Trent. Expecting the worst, the two officers were surprised when they arrived at the scene to see two pedestrians standing calmly and done injured 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. Not a lot is known about the lives of twin sisters Sabina and Ursula Ericsson. They were born in Vermland County in west-central Sweden on Friday, November 3, 1967. They had two older siblings, a sister and a brother. While they were at school, the twins were described by some as a little bit odd. They mostly kept to themselves and they sometimes had a tendency to be a bit violent. But there is no evidence that either Sabina or Ursula was ever treated for mental health issues. Following that, their years after school and into early adulthood are a bit of a mystery. By the year 2000, both women were in their early 30s and had left Sweden. Ursula relocated to the United States while Sabina was living in Ireland with her partner and two children. It's believed that between 2000 and 2008, Sabina may have spent time in the US visiting her twin. Her son even moved in with Ursula for a period of time, though for what reason, we do not know. In 2008, it was Ursula's turn to travel. The now 40-year-old Ursula flew to Ireland to stay with her twin sister. It's not known whether this was just a catch-up visit or if there was a specific reason for it. But what we do know is that during Ursula's time in Ireland, the twins were absolutely inseparable. They had an extremely tight bond. Then suddenly, at around 2am on Friday May 16, Sabina and Ursula left Ireland. without telling anyone of their plans or intentions. The next time that the twins were seen was at 8.40am the following day, Saturday May 17, in Liverpool, England. It's believed they had travelled from Ireland to England via ferry. They walked into St Anne Street Police Station near Liverpool's city centre, and Sabina told officers there that she was concerned about the safety of her children. Why Sabina and Ursula travelled to England to report this when Sabina's children and partner were back in Ireland is anyone's guess. Liverpool police contacted their Irish counterparts who performed a welfare check on Sabina's children and partner. Everything was okay. Sabina's partner told the Irish police that Sabina had taken off suddenly after they had a fight. Irish police said Sabina and Ursula could get in touch with them if they had any fears or concerns upon their return to Ireland. Some time after leaving the police station in Liverpool, the twins got onto a National Express coach that was bound for London, boarding at about 11.30am. The twins each carried a bag which they refused to store in the coach's luggage area. Instead, both women insisted on holding onto their respective bags throughout the journey. Just after 1pm, the coach stopped at Kiel Services, a service station on the M6 motorway. It's unclear why the coach stopped there as it wasn't a scheduled rest stop. While some reports state that this stop was due to a driver change, others suggest that the only reason the coach stopped was because Sabina and Ursula Erickson were behaving erratically. The twins disembarked, then had a discussion with the bus driver. Their behaviour and refusal to store their luggage had made him suspicious. When the twins wouldn't let him search their bags, he refused to allow them back on the coach. The driver told the service station's employee, a woman named Melissa, that he wasn't letting the twins back on. He essentially handballed the issue over to Melissa, asking her to keep an eye on the twins after he departed. Melissa watched the twins as they walked around the service station. They were holding their bags tightly against their chest, as though terrified of letting go. The way they moved and spoke to one another made it seem like they were plotting something. Melissa soon grew suspicious of the twins as well, wondering if perhaps they were carrying some kind of bomb or explosive device in their bags. Concerned, Melissa phoned the police. Officers soon arrived at the scene and spoke to the twins, but found nothing untoward. They told Melissa that there were no issues and the two women were going to make their way to London. The police gave the twins a phone number for the coach company so they could arrange to catch the next bus. Although Sabina and Ursula had agreed to this plan, they soon left the service station before the next coach arrived. Instead of boarding a vehicle, they began walking along the M6 motorway. The M6 is covered by video cameras that are monitored by the highway agency's control centre in Birmingham. At about 3.20pm, the twins were captured on these cameras walking along the motorway central reservation Although there was a low metal barrier on either side of the central reservation it was still a dangerous place to walk and not designed for pedestrians A Highway Agency patrol unit was dispatched to move the twins off the motorway. Highway Agency officers aren't police. Their role is to handle issues on England's motorways, ensure traffic is flowing freely, and address incidents that could put people at risk. If there is an accident, Highway Agency officers will sort out a traffic management plan, put in roadblocks and coordinate diversions. They don't pull motorists over or issue speeding fines. 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 braked hard and swerved to avoid running them over. Despite this swift response, one driver accidentally clipped Sabina and she was knocked over Although onlookers feared that Sabina might have serious injuries, she seemed perfectly fine She got up and she and Ursula made their way off the M6 onto the shoulder Police and paramedics were immediately summoned to the scene Police officers Cope and Finlayson responded to the call and it just so happened that they had a camera crew with them The two officers were being followed that day by a small crew from the BBC television program Motorway Cops, who were filming officers Cope and Finlayson as they went about their shift When they arrived, the twins were still standing on the shoulder of the motorway They were speaking with the two highway agency officers who were first at the scene Everybody appeared calm and all seemed well The paramedics hadn't arrived yet, but by the looks of things, they wouldn't be required Nobody appeared injured and the atmosphere was relaxed Officers Cope and Finlayson joined the others on the motorway shoulder and began speaking 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. While the highway agency officer was still briefing the police, this happened. Right. What we've got, they were in the central reds. Why? You know. Exactly. Are they speaking English? Speak one speaking English, I am. One in the red. We had a block coming up. Because we knew they were on camera. A full closure? A full closure door. They were trying to cross the Bravo. So as we approached, they hadn't seen this, the red ones got knocked down by the red car over there. I've got an ambulance on route for it. It seems all right, but I'm not a doctor. She has been knocked down. Is she the one that speaks English or the other one? Yes. The other one? She's got a runner. Oh, no! One moment, the twins were standing together calmly and nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, Ursula lunged forward, stepping towards the motorway. Seeing what she was trying to do, the highway agency officer who was standing next to her tried to stop Ursula, but he only managed to grab hold of her jacket, which she easily slipped out of. She then ran straight out onto the road and directly into the side of a 40-ton truck. The truck ran straight over the top of her. 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 onto the road. Case File will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. Both women lay motionless on the road, knocked unconscious by the impact, but still 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 Tanger 33 on arrival. Both females have ran out into the carriageway. First female has been hit by a HGV in lane 2, serious injury. Second female has been hit by a whole vehicle in lane 1. Two serious casualties, we're going to need our hands over. Officer Finlayson rushed to Ursula, who had been run over by the truck. She had massive leg injuries, suffering compound fractures. We're police, we're here to help. It's okay, it's alright. Have you ever seen that before? Yeah, haven't they? What the hell were they running for? Come on, they're on something. It's okay, it's okay. Now stay still. She's got a compact fracture, what is it, right leg? Ursula then started screaming that she wanted the police, even though a police officer was kneeling next to her. She became quite aggressive and started spitting and clawing at Officer Finlayson. Calm down. Calm down. Mine's very aggressive, spitting at me. She is very badly injured. I don't know what's going on. Calm down. No, come on, my love, come on, you've hit your head. Calm down. We are the police, we are the police. Calm down. Yeah, the doctor's en route. It's okay, calm down. She appears. Very disorientated. Paramedics arrived shortly after. They made their way first to Ursula and helped calm her down, bringing her under control. Meanwhile, Officer Cope was with Sabina, who was lying down calmly, until suddenly... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Stay, stay, stay. Have they got cholera or something they can stick on her? It's going to work really. She needs to stay. Yeah. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Right, don't get going anywhere, OK? Just chill, chill. They're going to steal your organ. It's OK, my love. I'm trying to make sure you're OK. Right. Where's Paul? Oh, shit. Where's Paul? Right. Where's Paul? Stay. Paul, Paul, why do you feel me? Stay still. Why do you feel me? I'll stop. Fucking hell! No! No! After calling out, they're going to steal your organs, Sabina stood up. Officer Cope tried to soothe her and make her lie back down. At this, Sabina started to pull away from Officer Cope before turning around and punching the officer in the face, knocking her to the ground. Sabina then jumped over the central reservation and ran onto the other side of the motorway, where traffic was still moving. This time she was lucky not to be hit by a passing vehicle. Officer Finlayson gave chase. As drivers saw what was going on, they slowed down to a stop. Officer Finlayson tried to grab hold of Sabina, who removed her jacket and started jumping up and down like she was shaping up for a fight. Stay! Stay there, calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down. Calm down, calm down, calm down. Calm down. Calm down. They're high on something. Calm down. We're police. Police. Police. Police. Officer Cope, along with other police who had arrived on the scene and members of the public, had to assist in bringing Sabina under control. It took six people in total, with Sabina still resisting and putting up a fight. Her strength was later described as inhuman. Help! Help! Help! Guys, watch it. Legs down, legs down! Go down, we'll get hanged up from behind. It's not this. Down! On the face down and down on the face down. That way, towards you. What's up? What's up? What's up? What's up? What's up? Ah! Call the police! We are the police! Like her sister, Ursula, Sabina started calling out for the police, despite the fact she was surrounded by officers We are the police No let go Why do you love this man Why do you do this Why do you do it Why Watch it I asked your lab here Why Roll it forward, son! Over! Fuck you guys! Fuck you! Fuck off! I'm going to go here, sweetheart. Help me! Sabina was finally restrained, but she continued to aggressively lash out, making it impossible for paramedics to treat her. They eventually had to sedate Sabina in order to give her medical care. None of the first responders or bystanders could understand what was going on. The twins' bizarre behaviour was unlike anything the police on scene had ever encountered before. They suspected Sabina and Ursula were most likely under the influence of some kind of drug. It was also speculated that the twins' dangerous actions could have been the result of a suicide pact they'd made. A search of their bags found multiple mobile phones and one of the twins' passports, but no ID at all for the other. Both twins were transported to hospital. Ursula was in critical condition, but Sabina had suffered only minor injuries. Due to Ursula's severe condition, doctors took her blood for testing. It was negative for drugs and alcohol. Nor were any drugs found on her person, in her bag or in Sabina's belongings. Sabina's blood wasn't tested as she'd only suffered minor injuries and wasn't facing serious criminal charges. It was presumed, however, that if Ursula hadn't taken anything, then Sabina wouldn't have either Sabina didn't undergo a full psychiatric evaluation, but was seen by a police doctor, a psych doctor and a social worker All three found there was nothing wrong with her Once she was given a clean bill of health, Sabina was discharged from hospital just five hours after the incident on the M6 Once she was released from hospital, police took her into their custody. The screaming person who had thrown herself in front of traffic and fought with officers was long gone. Sabina was now completely relaxed. She was so compliant that the police didn't even bother to handcuff her for the drive to the station in Stoke-on-Trant, a city in the county of Staffordshire. Sabina sat quietly in the back seat of the car, calm and completely unrestrained. At the police station, Sabina laughed and joked around with the officers as they began processing her. The officers asked Sabina a series of questions as part of her processing, including questions about her history and health. When they asked if Sabina had ever tried to harm herself before, she said she hadn't. Sabina had no previous criminal record. At no time during her questioning did she ask how her sister was. Police charged Sabina with trespassing on a motorway and assaulting a police officer. She was kept in custody and appeared at the Fenton Magistrates Court two days later on Monday May 19 2008. Sabina pleaded guilty to both charges. She was sentenced to one day in custody, which she had already served, and was released. During her time in custody, Sabina seemed very calm and casual about the situation she now found herself in. It was almost as though nothing had happened. Though at one point during her processing, she made a remark that would seem ominous in retrospect. We say always in Sweden that an accident rarely comes alone. Usually, at least one more follows. Perhaps two. Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. That evening, 54-year-old Glenn Hollandshead was walking home with his friend Peter Malloy and Glenn's dog. The two men had just been to their local pub for a few beers and were strolling along Christchurch Street in the town of Fenton, which is part of Stoke-on-Trent, and just around the corner from the Magistrates' Court. As they walked, the two friends noticed Sabina Erickson standing on the other side of the road. The woman stood out like a sore thumb, appearing stressed and worried. She was carrying her possessions in a plastic bag and looked lost. Sabina called out to the two men, saying that Glenn's dog looked nice. In response, Glenn and Peter crossed the road and struck up a conversation with Sabina. The trio chatted for a little while. Sabina told the men that her sister was in hospital and she was trying to find her. She also said that she needed to find a bed and breakfast where she could stay. Glenn explained that there were really no hotels or B&Bs in the area, but offered to have her over at his home. He could make her something to eat and try to help her locate her sister before organising proper accommodation. This offer was in keeping with Glenn's character. Friends and loved ones described him as a warm and friendly person who liked to help out people in need. Sabina accepted Glenn's offer and her mood appeared to improve. All three walked back to Glenn's house where they sat down and had a few drinks together. But whenever Glenn and Peter asked about Sabina's sister, her demeanour changed. She would either change the subject or turn awkwardly silent. Sabina also started to display some strange behaviour. In the middle of their conversation, she would suddenly stand up, walk over to the window, pull the shades up and stare up and down the street, before snapping the shades back and sitting back down. She did this a few times, as though she was paranoid that somebody was watching. Then she took out her cigarettes and asked Glen and Peter if they wanted one. Both accepted. As they were about to light up, Sabina quickly snatched the cigarettes from them and said, They might be poisoned, you can't have them. She did this even though she had been smoking from this particular packet of cigarettes all night. Peter was starting to feel very uneasy. He could tell something wasn't quite right with Sabina. Glenn, on the other hand, seemed relaxed, comfortable and entirely unconcerned. He kept telling Peter not to worry, reassuring him that Sabina was just a bit quirky and her behaviour was nothing to be concerned about. Peter wasn't reassured and couldn't wait to leave. He soon made an escape and headed home, leaving Sabina and Glenn by themselves. Perhaps what was most intriguing is that despite being run over by a car, flung up into the air and slamming onto the road just two days prior, Sabina wasn't complaining of any pain at all. She seemed to be completely unaffected. At around lunchtime the next day, Glenn rang his brother Paul, who worked at the local hospital, to see if he knew anything about Ursula Glenn was his usual cheerful self throughout the call Occasionally, Paul could hear Sabina's voice in the background Glenn explained what had happened and said they were just after any available information on Ursula's status At about 7.40pm that evening, Glenn walked outside and asked a neighbour, Frank, if he had any spare tea bags Frank was washing his vehicle and told Glenn that when he finished up, he would go inside and grab some Glenn thanked him and went back into his house But just one minute later, Glenn staggered back outside He was bleeding and had four separate stab wounds, including one to the heart. I've been stabbed. She stabbed me, Glenn called out. He then collapsed to the ground. Frank immediately dialed emergency services. Glenn asked Frank to look after his dog before passing away. Meanwhile, Sabina left Glenn's house and ran up the street carrying a hammer. She repeatedly hit herself over the head with the hammer as she ran. This caught the attention of a passing motorist named Joshua who saw what she was doing and noticed her hair was matted with blood There was also blood over the front of Sabina jacket Joshua got out of his car and tried to wrestle the hammer from Sabina. She struggled with him and appeared to be in a 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 took from her pocket. She then ran away. Joshua saw two paramedic vehicles driving after her in response to Frank's call for help. Sabina kept running, trying to get away from the paramedics. She ran to a bridge at Heron Cross above the A50 roadway. Sabina climbed the railing and jumped straight off onto the road below. The fall was about 30 feet, which is roughly 10 metres. She broke both of her ankles and fractured her skull, but she survived. Sabina was transported to hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, police examined the crime scene at Glenn's house. It looked as though Glenn had been in the process of preparing a meal when he was stabbed Sabina's DNA profile was found on the kitchen knife used to stab Glenn The bloodstained jacket she had been wearing at the time she jumped off the bridge tested positive for Glenn Hollinshead's DNA Sabina remained in hospital for almost four months and was discharged in a wheelchair on Thursday September 11 Upon her release from hospital, she was charged with the murder of Glen Hollandshead and taken into police custody. Ursula was also discharged from hospital in September, but she wasn't charged with any offences and returned to Sweden. Sabina refused to answer any questions at all. Her reply to anything asked of her was no comment. So, we have no idea exactly what happened in Glenn's house that day, or even the night before, after his friend Peter left. Sabina initially pleaded not guilty to murder, and a trial date was set for February 2009. It was postponed due to issues obtaining Sabina's medical records. The trial was rescheduled for September Prior to her trial, Sabina was assessed by two forensic psychiatrists One acting for the defence and the other for the prosecution Both reached the same conclusion At the time that Sabina Erickson killed Glenn Holland's head, she was mentally ill However, the psychiatrists had different opinions as to what her mental illness was The defence diagnosed Sabina with induced delusional disorder A rare condition where similar delusional beliefs are shared by two or more people who have a close relationship to one another In Sabina's case, the condition would relate to her relationship with her twin sister, Ursula After her sister ran out onto the motorway into the path of a truck, Sabina followed her. The prosecution diagnosed Sabina with acute polymorphic psychotic disorder, a type of acute transient psychosis characterised by rapidly shifting psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoia. The prosecution hypothesised that Sabina had abruptly become psychotic for a short period before her symptoms disappeared Both of these proposed diagnoses were rare conditions Video of the incident on the motorway was used in making each diagnosis and the footage was later played in court as well Glenn's family wanted to know why Sabina was released from hospital so quickly and allowed to go free after the motorway incident if she was suffering from what was now determined to be a psychotic episode. Prior to Sabina's release from hospital after the motorway incident, she was seen by a police surgeon, a consultant psychiatrist and a social worker. and all three found that Sabina displayed no obvious signs of any mental or psychological illness before concluding she was fit to be released. As the footage from the M6 incident wasn't available when Sabina was admitted to hospital, these three individuals didn't have the benefit of seeing it. However, they would have received detailed first-hand accounts from the officers present at the scene. A couple of explanations have been thrown out there. If Sabina was in fact suffering from acute polymorphic psychotic disorder, then her symptoms could have come and gone quickly and may have been momentarily absent while she was reviewed in hospital. Another theory is that the sedation she was given on the motorway could have had a calming effect on her at the time she was assessed. But one can't help but think the system failed When you see that footage and find out three separate medical professionals ruled there was no sign of mental or psychological illness You're left scratching your head Although the psychiatrists hired by the prosecution and the defence found that Sabina Erickson had been experiencing a mental illness when she stabbed Glenn Holland's head Neither of them assessed her twin sister, Ursula Maybe if Ursula had also been assessed, some more light may have been shed on what was going on The findings of the two psychiatrists led to Sabina pleading guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter with diminished responsibility Although the judge had difficulty determining which diagnosis was the correct one he accepted that Sabina had suffered from a rare and temporary form of insanity and her plea was accepted. As Sabina had since made a full recovery from her mental illness, she couldn't be detained at a secure mental health hospital. Neither the prosecution nor the defence believed she posed a danger to the public, prompting the judge to sentence her to five years in prison. Because she had already spent 439 days in custody prior to sentencing, she would be eligible for parole in 2011 In delivering this sentence, the judge stated I understand that this sentence will seem entirely inadequate to the relatives of the deceased However, I have 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 have 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 Hollinshead's life. No sentence that I could pass could do that. It is a sentence which I hope fairly measures a truly tragic event. Glenn Hollinshead's family considered Sabina's diagnosis to be a convenient explanation, a quick and easy way to deal with an event that was so bizarre nobody really had any idea what was going on. Glenn's brother Gary has spoken out against the way the case was handled, stating that he doesn't blame Sabina for her actions, but he does hold the justice system responsible for their part. He has also paid tribute to his brother's kind and generous nature. Quote, Her mental condition should have been properly assessed after what she did on the motorway and the experiences the police had. Her mental disorder should have been picked up prior to her being let out into the community. Glenn saw her in distress and was just trying to help. He wasn't slow in coming forward to help somebody in distress. It was in his nature. He was trying to help. He would help anybody. If he saw a fight in the street and a guy was losing, he would help. During the court process, Sabina maintained her silence. She didn't utter a single word about the murder of Glenn Hollandshead or the M6 incident. No one knows what the twins were even doing in England in the first place. They have never given a reason. Like her sister Ursula, Sabina returned to Sweden after completing her sentence. Just as not much is known about Sabina's personal history prior to these tragic events, very little is known about her life after release. Thank you.