Twins ran onto M6 then one of them stabbed a stranger to death

The case of twin sisters who darted into M6 traffic before one of them fatally stabbed a Good Samaritan is set to be revisited in a new documentary. The team behind 'Traffic Cops', 'Inside The Force' and 'The Crash Investigators' are bringing the chilling tale back to life.

In 2008, identical twins Sabina and Ursula Eriksson caused chaos on the M6, running into oncoming traffic before one ended up killing a Good Samaritan she had known for less than a day.

Prior to these events, the Eriksson twins were reported to lead 'normal lives' in their homeland of Sweden since their birth in 1967. In 2000, Ursula relocated to America, while Sabina chose to settle in County Cork, Ireland, with her partner and two children.

No one could have foreseen the shocking series of events that would transpire when the pair holidayed in England. The 40 year old siblings spent some time in Merseyside before hopping on a National Express coach from Liverpool to London on 16 May 2008, reports Stoke on Trent Live.

As the bus neared Keele Services on the M6, the twins began to act increasingly peculiar. Despite the police being summoned to the scene, the sisters were allowed to leave after being assessed as harmless.

Following their encounter with the law, Sabina and Ursula ventured onto the central reservation of the M6, daring to cross as vehicles sped by. Coincidentally, a film crew for the BBC series 'Motorway Cops' was on site, capturing the ensuing drama.

The startling footage revealed Sabina darting in front of an approaching Volkswagen Polo. Despite being unconscious for 15 minutes after the collision, the 40-year-old then made another dash across the carriageway.

Around 3pm, the Highways Agency received a report of two individuals on the motorway. Sabina was found lying in the third lane, while her sister Ursula, who had been scaling the central reservation barrier, was hit by a lorry travelling at around 56mph, resulting in two broken legs.

Incredibly, both women survived these peculiar incidents. When police arrived, Sabina assaulted a female officer attempting to help her and ran back into the traffic.

She was eventually subdued and handcuffed.

Ursula also resisted medical aid, shouting and spitting at the officers assisting them. After a hospital visit via air ambulance, Sabina was taken into police custody.

On 19 May 2008, the 40-year-old admitted to charges of trespass on the motorway and assaulting a police officer at Fenton Magistrates' Court. She was handed a one-day prison sentence, which she had already served having spent a night in custody, and was released without undergoing a full psychiatric assessment.

Upon her release, Sabina set out on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent in search of her twin sister. At 7pm, she was noticed by two men walking a dog on Christchurch Street, Fenton - one of them was 54-year-old Glenn Hollinshead.

Sabina enquired Mr Hollinshead and his mate Peter Molloy about any local bed and breakfasts or hotels. Taking sympathy on her, the self-employed welder offered her a place to stay at his Duke Street, Fenton residence.

Mr Hollinshead, a former RAF paramedic, became increasingly concerned by Sabina's behaviour and left his home just before midnight, while the Swedish woman stayed overnight. The following day, he tried to assist Sabina in locating her twin sister.

However, disaster struck at 7.40pm during dinner preparation - Sabina stabbed Mr Hollinshead four times with a kitchen knife. The victim managed to stumble out of his house, informing a neighbour 'she stabbed me' before collapsing in an alleyway and tragically passing away.

As terrified neighbours dialled emergency services, Sabina, armed with a hammer, made her escape from the crime scene. In her flight, she hit her own head with the hammer and assaulted a passing motorist with a roof tile she had in her pocket.

Her wild chase finally ended in Heron Cross when she leapt from a 40ft high bridge onto the A50. A hospital visit revealed that she had broken both ankles and fractured her skull.

No evidence of alcohol or drugs was found in her system.

Sabina was arrested on 6 June 2008 while recuperating at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Both sisters were discharged from the hospital in September and returned to Sweden, before relocating to the United States.

Initially charged with murder, Sabina later pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility. Her plea was accepted by the prosecution at Nottingham Crown Court on 2 September 2010.

Throughout her interrogation and trial, Sabina provided no explanation for her actions that led to the death of an innocent man.

However, during her trial, her lawyer suggested that Sabina was a 'secondary' sufferer of folie a deux, influenced by the 'primary' sufferer - in this case, her twin sister.

Her defence also informed the court that Sabina was suffering from a rare psychiatric disorder which caused her to hear voices.

The bizarre case of Folie a deux, or 'shared psychosis', came to light when Sabina Eriksson was influenced by her twin sister's delusional beliefs, leading to a tragic chain of events.

Sabina, swayed by her sister's actions, found herself in court where her defence argued the influence of shared psychosis. Despite this, Mr Justice Saunders handed down a five-year sentence, sending Sabina to Bronzefield Women's Prison, where she embraced Christianity.

In his remarks, Mr Justice Saunders acknowledged: "While the mental illness resolved quickly, both psychiatrists agree it was serious and that she behaved in the way she did because of her illness. Her culpability for her behaviour is, on the medical evidence, accordingly low. She was suffering from delusions which she believed to be true and they dictated her behaviour."

He further noted: "It is also not one of those cases where the defendant could have done something to avoid the onset. It had a sudden onset, it was a serious illness while it lasted and it resolved rapidly."

Sabina's earliest opportunity for release would come in 2011, after already serving 439 days prior to her sentencing.

The decision left Garry Hollinshead, brother of the deceased Mr Hollinshead, feeling let down by the justice system. Speaking to The Sentinel, he expressed his dismay that Sabina could rejoin society so soon after her harrowing acts and the subsequent loss of life.

"If she is being considered to be mentally unfit at the time of committing a crime, there has to be a process," he said at the time. "I do question the criminal justice system for allowing somebody like this to be let out when she is capable of committing such a crime.

"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 in to the community.

"We don't hold her [Sabina] responsible, the same as we wouldn't blame a rabid dog for biting someone. She is ill and to a large degree, not responsible for her actions. But her mental disorder should have been recognised much earlier."

He concluded saying: "I do question the criminal justice system for allowing somebody like this to be let out [of her initial custody] when she is capable of committing such a crime.

"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 Eriksson 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."

How killer Sabina Eriksson ended up in Stoke-on-Trent to stab a man to death....

FRIDAY, MAY 16 - Sabina leaves her County Cork home with twin sister, Ursula. SATURDAY, 17 MAY 8.30am - Sabina and her sister visit St Anne Police Station in Liverpool to express concerns about her children.

Midday - They catch a National Express coach heading to Victoria Station in London.

1pm - The coach makes an unscheduled stop at Keele Services for a driver change.

3.20pm - Police are summoned to the M6, just north of Keele Services. Ursula has darted onto the motorway in front of a lorry.

Sabina follows suit, running in front of a silver Volkswagen Polo car and is thrown into the air. Eriksson then regains consciousness, sprints across the motorway, punches a female police officer attempting to restrain her, and flees.

She is subsequently arrested and taken to the Northern Area Custody facility in Etruria.

MONDAY, 19 MAY Sabina is charged with assaulting a police officer and trespassing onto a motorway. She appears before North Staffordshire magistrates in Fenton, is sentenced to one-day custody and released.

7pm - Sabina engages in conversation with Glenn Hollinshead and his mate Peter Molloy on Christchurch Road, Fenton, after they exit the Royal Oak pub. They all head to Mr Hollinshead's residence on Duke Street.

11.40pm - Mr Molloy departs from the property.

TUESDAY, 20 MAY Lunchtime: Mr Hollinshead rings his brother, Paul, who resides in Blurton and works at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, informing him about Sabina and her sister. He asks if he can find out which ward Ursula is in at the hospital.

At 7.40pm, Mr Hollinshead stepped outside to borrow tea bags from his neighbour, Frank Booth, who was busy washing his minibus and asked Mr Hollinshead to wait until he finished. Mr Hollinshead returned indoors but emerged again after just 74 seconds, claiming: "she's stabbed me".

By 7.49pm, paramedics en route to a reported stabbing on Duke Street spotted Sabina on a central reservation between two carriageways near Heron Cross roundabout off the A50, striking herself with a hammer.

At 8pm, motorist Joshua Grattage intervened, disarming Sabina of the hammer. As she noticed the paramedics, she dashed towards the roundabout over the A50, pursued by ambulance officers, before vaulting the railings and plummeting onto the A50.

The paramedics were then redirected to the Duke Street stabbing.

Police discovered Mr Hollinshead's body in an alleyway on Duke Street at 8.05pm.

On Friday, June 6, Sabina was apprehended while hospitalised at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Come Thursday, September 11, Sabina was discharged from hospital and immediately taken to the Northern Area Custody suite in Etruria.

At 7.43pm, Sabina faced charges for the murder of Mr Hollinshead.

The following day, Friday, September 12, saw Sabina at North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court, accused of murder.

On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, Sabina's trial commenced at Nottingham Crown Court, where she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

On 25 November 2009, Sabina was handed a five-year prison sentence.