True Crime Society – Folie à deux crimes – events of shared psychosis

In this blog, we are going to discuss a strange phenomenon that is known as ‘Folie à deux.’ This is a French term that means ‘madness of two’. It can also refer to a shared psychosis or a shared delusional disorder.

The phrase was coined in the 19th Century when a French couple began exhibiting paranoid and delusional behaviour. While doctors were unable to tell which of them had become psychotic first, it was clear they had fallen into a cycle of reinforcing each other’s delusions.

This can relate to crime in many cases – for example, people have committed murder with shared psychosis being put forward as a defense, and people have gone missing after becoming caught up in shared delusions.

THE ERIKSSON TWINS

The first case we are going to discuss is the case of twin sisters Ursula and Sabina Eriksson.  In May 2008, Ursula ran into the path of a truck on a motorway.  Sabina then followed and stepped into the path of an oncoming vehicle.  Both survived with severe injuries.

It was later claimed that Sabina was a “secondary” sufferer of folie à deux, influenced by the presence or perceived presence of her twin sister Ursula, the “primary”. 

After the twins were released from hospital, Sabina ended up stabbing a man to death.  

Sabina and her identical twin Ursula were born in Sweden on 3 November 1967.  They had an older sister and an older brother.

Family have said that they had no history of mental health conditions and no criminal history.  

By the year 2000, the twins had moved from Sweden.  Ursula was living in the US and Sabina was living in Ireland with her partner and two children.

Ursula traveled to Ireland to visit Sabina in May 2008.

On Friday 16 May 2008, things started to get very strange.

According to a 2009 article from The Sentinel:

At 2am on May 16, the sisters left Sabina’s home.  It is thought they possibly took a ferry to Liverpool in England.  They arrived there at around 8.30am on Saturday 17 May 2008.  

They went to the St Anne Police Station in Liverpool and attempted to report concerns that Sabina had about her children.  

Liverpool Police contacted police in Dublin to request more information.  They spoke to Sabina’s partner and were told that the couple had fought the previous evening.  

At around 11.30am on 17 May, Sabina and Ursula got on a bus that was headed to London.  

They had been on the bus for around one hour, when at approximately 1pm, the bus stopped at Keele to change drivers.  This was not a scheduled comfort stop, so the women would have not been aware that this stop was coming.  

The sisters got off the bus at Keele.  There are varying reports as to why – some reports say they felt sick, however the bus driver said he asked them to leave as he was suspicious of their strange behaviour.  He said they were holding their bags very tightly and when they refused that he be allowed to search them for illegal items, he did not let them re-board.  

The driver also told the manager of the service station (gas station) as to what was going on.  She also felt suspicious of the women and she called the police.  Authorities arrived and questioned Ursula and Sabina but let them go after saying they appeared harmless.

The next events were captured on CCTV.  The sisters left the service station and began to walk down the central part of the M6 motorway.  They then attempted to cross it.  This caused traffic chaos and they obtained minor injuries.

Police and other authorities were called to assist.  By coincidence, the police were accompanied by a television crew who were filming a show called ‘Motorway Cops.’  

Police were standing with the women and other witnesses, trying to find out more information about what had happened.

Ursula broke free of the police and ran into the path of oncoming Mercedes-Benz Actros 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 travelling at high speed.

Sabina was knocked unconscious and remained unresponsive for 15 minutes.  Ursula had her legs crushed by the truck.  

Paramedics were called.  

Ursula resisted medical aid by spitting, scratching, and screaming. Ursula told the police officers restraining her, “I recognise you – I know you’re not real”, and Sabina, now conscious, shouted “They’re going to steal your organs”

Despite being so severely injured, Sabina got to her feet and attempted to run away from authorities.  She started screaming for help from the police, even though they were the ones who were trying to assist her.  

Emergency workers and members of the public worked together and were able to restrain Sabina.  They carried her to an ambulance where she was handcuffed and sedated.

Due to the behaviour exhibited by the women, it was assumed that they were under the influence of drugs or that they had made a suicide pact.  

Ursula was flown to hospital.  Sabina was taken for treatment and miraculously, was well enough to be released into police custody after five hours. 

Sabina later told an officer at the police station, “We say in Sweden that an accident rarely comes alone. Usually at least one more follows—maybe two.

Sabina was charged with trespass on the motorway and with hitting a police officer.  She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ONE day in custody.  She was released on 19 May 2008 as she had already spent the night in police custody.  She was also released without undergoing a full psych evaluation.  

Sabina left the courthouse after she was released and began to wander the streets of Stoke on Trent, trying to find Ursula.  She wore Ursula’s clothing and was carrying belongings in a plastic bag that had been given to her by police.

While she was walking, Sabina came across two men at 7pm.  Their names were Glenn Hollinshead and Peter Molloy.  Some reports say the men were out walking their dog, while other reports saying they were going home from a pub.  They struck up a conversation and Glenn was said to have taken pity on her situation.  Sabina ended up going with the men back to Glenn’s home.

Peter would later say that Sabina was acting erratically and seemed nervous, which made him worried.  He said that she kept getting up and looking out of the window which made him concerned that an abusive partner may be after her.  

She also appeared paranoid.  She would offer the men cigarettes and then snatch them out of their mouths, saying they were poisoned.  

At around 11.40pm, Peter left the house to go to his own home.  

The following day, Tuesday 20 May 2008, Glenn called his brother at around noon.  His brother worked at the local hospital and Glenn told him about Sabina and Ursula.  He asked his brother to find out what ward Ursula was on.  

At 7.40pm that night, Glenn spoke to his neighbour and asked if he had any tea bags.  His neighbour said that was just finishing washing his vehicle and he would drop them to Glenn when he was done.  Glenn went back into his home but came back outside 74 seconds later saying ‘ She’s stabbed me.’  

Paramedics responded to a call about the stabbing at 7.49pm.  While on the way there, they saw Sabina standing in the middle of a nearby roadway.  She was reportedly hitting herself in the head with a hammer.  A motorist, Joshua Grattage, stopped his car and took the hammer from Sabina.

Sabina screamed at Joshua and took a roof tile from her pocket.  She hit him on the head with the tile.  Paramedics ran to the scene and chased Sabina.  She ended up jumping from a 12 metre or 40 foot high bridge onto a motorway.  She broke both her ankles and fractured her skull.  

Authorities found Glenn’s body at 8.05pm.  His last words were reported to have been ‘ Look after my dog for me.’  Glenn died after being stabbed five times with a kitchen knife.  

Sabina was treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.   On June 6, 2008, she was arrested while still in  hospital.  She was finally discharged on 11 September, 2008 and was taken into custody and charged with murder that same day.

Ursula also remained in hospital until September.  She went back to Sweden and eventually went home to the US.  

Sabina ended up pleading guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility in September 2009.  Sabina never gave an explanation for her actions and would only ever reply ‘ no comment’  to any questions that she was asked.  

Both the prosecution and defence claimed Sabina was insane at the time of the murder but that she had become sane again by trial time.  

The defence counsel in the trial claimed that Sabina was a “secondary” sufferer of folie à deux, 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 she could not interpret what they said, as well as an alternative theory that she had suffered from acute polymorphic delusional disorder.

Her plea was accepted by the prosecution in September 2010.   Mr Justice Saunders concluded that Sabina had a “low” level of culpability for her actions:

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 is 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. [Sabina was] suffering from delusions, which she believed to be true, and they dictated her behaviour. It is not one of those cases where the defendant could have done something to avoid the onset.

Sabina was sentenced to five years in prison. She was sent to Bronzefield Women’s Prison, where she turned to religion and faith and was said to become a Christian.  Having already spent 439 days in custody before sentencing, she was released in 2011.  Following her release, she returned to Sweden.  

We haven’t been able to find any updates on either sister in recent years.

THE TROMP FAMILY

The second case we are going to discuss is an Australian one – the mysterious case of the Tromp family.  

In August and September of 2016, the Tromp family of five – Mark (51), Jacoba (Coby) (53), and their children- Riana (29), Mitchell (25) and Ella (22) disappeared from their farm in Victoria, Australia.  They reappeared one week later following a police investigation and two of them entered into psychiatric care.

One investigating police officer described it as “the most bizarre case I’ve seen in 30 years”.

At the time of this event, the family owned a redcurrant/berry farm in Silvan.  They also owned an earthmoving company.

Two of the children were still living in the family home at the time.  Ella had her own trucking company.  All three of the children worked in the family businesses.  

The family had lived in Silvan for ten years.  

Info about the area:

Silvan is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 40 km east of Melbourne, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Silvan recorded a population of 1,323 at the 2021 census.[2]

Silvan marks the halfway point between Belgrave and Lilydale, both large suburban areas. The area’s soils, well suited to growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, draw tourists to the various pick-yourself orchards and berry farms in Silvan. A cultivated hybrid variety of blackberry known as the silvanberry is named after the town.

The family farm was named Parkview Farm.  

Parkview Farm, the “lovely, tranquil property” that is the site of the rural Victorian tight-knit tribe’s property and business, is a lush and sprawling berry farm where visitors are welcomed to pick redcurrant berries and explore the idyllic livestock-studded surrounds.

On Monday 29 August 2016, the family all fled the farm in Ella’s grey Peugeot vehicle.  It would later be reported that Mark and Jacoba had been suffering increasing signs of paranoia and stress.  At least one of the parents believed that someone was trying to kill them and take their money.  

They took with them a large amount of cash but left their bank cards, cell phones and passports behind.  

They headed towards a neighbouring state, New South Wales.  

It was discovered after they set off that Mitchell had not left his cell phone at the farm.  He was said to be the only member of the family not swept up in the drama and he did not believe they were in danger.   When his phone was discovered, it was thrown out the window of the vehicle as they passed through Warburton, around a 30 minute drive from their home. The rest of the family were convinced that Mitchell’s phone was being used to track them. 

By the following day, Tuesday August 30, the family had arrived in Bathurst, New South Wales.  This was around 8.5hrs away from their Silvan home.

At 7am that day, Mitchell decided he had had enough and he left his family.  He later said he had gone along to ensure they would all be safe, but that his parents became increasingly delusional and hard to tolerate.

After he left, the four remaining family members drove from Bathurst to the Jenolan Caves – a tourist attraction around one hour away.

At this point, the two daughters, Riana and Ella, decided to also leave the situation.  They stole a car and drove two hours south, to Goulburn.  When they got there, they reported Mark and Jacoba missing.  Ella and Riana decided to separate while in Goulburn.  Ella said she wanted to go back to Silvan to feed the animals on the farm.    After Ella left, Riana climbed into the back of a vehicle being driven by a male.  He only discovered her after he had been driving for an hour.  He pulled over and called authorities. Riana was said to be catatonic and did not know her name or where she was.  

After the missing person report for the parents was filed, police went to the farmhouse in Silvan.  They found the house was empty and unlocked, and paperwork was strewn everywhere.  

There are some varying reports as to when this happened, but either late on Tuesday night or early on Wednesday August 31, 2016, both Ella and Mitchell arrived back at the farm in Silvan.  Mitchell had taken a series of trains and other public transport in order to get home.  

Later that day, the family’s Peugeot was spotted in Wangaratta in Victoria – this is around 6.5hrs drive from the Jenolan Caves, where the daughters split from the parents.  Police had received a report that it was seen following another vehicle so they attended the location.  

The report was called in by a couple who were in their own car playing ‘ Pokemon Go’ at around 10pm.  They told authorities that the driver (Mark) had ‘ stalked’  them.  

“I could barely see his headlights because he was that close to my car,” said one of the people who called in the report.  Whenever he pulled over, the Peugeot stopped right behind them. 

Mark got out and ran towards them, but stopped in the middle of the road and stared. They watched him walk into a park and disappear into the night.

Police used dogs to try and find him, but failed.

On Thursday 1 September 2016, Jacoba was found wandering the streets in Yass.  

We don’t know how she got to Yass – Yass is in New South Wales, a separate state to where Mark was spotted the day before – it is around 3.5 hours drive from where he was stopped by police.  It was later theorized that she caught public transport from Wangaratta, back to Yass.  

Jacoba was taken to hospital in Yass, before she was transferred to hospital in Goulburn.  This is where Riana was also being treated.  

Around this time, there were a series of break-ins in Wangaratta, including one at a motel.  These were investigated but it’s still unclear if Mark was involved in any of these incidents.  

By this point, Mark was the only Tromp family member unaccounted for.  Mitchell and Ella made a plea to their dad.

“I’ve never seen anyone like this or anyone conduct themselves in this way. I just really want my dad to be found,” Mitchell said. “He’s not dangerous, he’s my mate, my father. I love him.”

Mitchell also said that his parents had been facing financial and business pressures when they seemingly snapped and took off on this ‘ technology free’ road trip.  

“It’s out of character,” said George Tromp, Mark’s father.   “He’s just a normal bloke like me.”

On Saturday September 3, 2016, five days after this saga began, Mark was found alive on a street near the Wangaratta airport.  He was said to be in ‘ good health.’  

Mark was questioned by police and assessed by mental health clinicians.  He was released into the care of his brother, who was/is a police officer.   He was photographed by the media as he was driven away and he gave them all the finger.  

He gave a statement afterwards that was more contrite.

Mark said his family had been through “a difficult period”.

“We will soon be reunited and together,” he said.

“I hope that we will begin to make sense of our ordeal and return to a normal life,”  he said.

Mark thanked law enforcement and authorities for their help. 

“Without reservation, I apologise for the hurt and concern caused by these events,” he said.

He also thanked health care professionals who had looked after the family’s “physical and mental wellbeing”.

“More than anything, my family and I need time to recover and receive appropriate assistance, including mental health services,” he said.

After Mark was found, Ella was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and possessing the proceeds of crime.  She was scheduled to go to court in April of 2017 but we cannot find any updates so perhaps the charges were dismissed?

After all of the Tromp family were safely recovered, there was much speculation online.  Drugs and addictions were mentioned as being possible cases.  Sgt Mark Knight said though that there was no evidence of that.  He also said they had no diagnosed mental health problems, no debts and that they did not belong to any religious or cult-like groups.  It was also speculated that maybe they could have all been affected by chemicals used in their farming.  

“This is just a massive meltdown, I’m sure of it,” Sgt Knight said.

Sgt Knight said he knew the family quite well as they were all local to his area.  “When I see them, I’ll sit them down and ask: ‘What the hell happened there?’”

Mitchell and Ella would later speak to the media and said they couldn’t really explain what happened.  

‘I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s really hard to explain or put a word on it but they were just fearing for their lives and then they decided to flee,” Mitchell said. “It was a build-up of different, normal, everyday events – just pressure – and it slowly got worse as the days went by.”

SOURCE LIST

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37293494