Ursula and Sabina Eriksson

When Highways England traffic officers arrived to assist the women, they ran across the busy motorway, as captured by a small television crew.

Ursula suffered serious injuries, and when Sabina regained consciousness, she refused medical aid and attacked a police officer, at which point she was arrested and sedated.

[1][2][3] Sabina later pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, after an apparent episode of folie à deux (or "shared psychosis"), a rare psychiatric disorder in which delusional beliefs are transmitted from one individual to another.

[5][7] Probably travelling by ferry, they arrived in Liverpool at 8:30 am on Saturday, and went to St Anne Street Police Station, apparently to report concerns over the safety of Sabina's children.

[7] Liverpool Police contacted Dublin to follow up the request, learning that Sabina had fought with her partner the previous night.

[9] The driver of the bus, however, said he left them at Keele services,[10] although it was not a scheduled rest stop,[5] at around 1:00 pm after becoming suspicious of their erratic behaviour.

The manager of the service station was informed, and also, feeling suspicious of the pair's demeanour, movements, and fixation on their bags, she called the police.

Standing on the north direction hard shoulder of the motorway, the police were being appraised of the situation when, without warning, Ursula broke free and ran into the side of an oncoming Mercedes-Benz Actros 2546 articulated lorry travelling at around 56 mph (90 km/h).

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".

[13] Sabina started screaming for help and calling for the police although they were present,[5] then struck Officer Cope's face before running into traffic on the other side of the motorway.

Emergency workers and several members of the public caught up with her and restrained her, and carried her to a waiting ambulance, at which point she was handcuffed and sedated.

"[12] On 19 May 2008, Sabina was released from court without a full psychiatric evaluation, having pleaded guilty to the charges of trespass on the motorway and hitting a police officer.

Leaving court, Sabina began to wander the streets of Stoke-on-Trent, trying to locate her sister in hospital and carrying her possessions in a clear plastic bag the police had given her.

[7][1] One of the men was 54-year-old Glenn Hollinshead, a self-employed welder, qualified paramedic, and former RAF airman,[15] and the other was his friend, Peter Molloy.

Back at the house, over drinks, her odd behaviour continued as she constantly got up and looked out of the window, leading Molloy to assume that she had run away from an abusive partner.

[10] At 7:40 pm, while a meal was being prepared, Hollinshead left the house to ask a neighbour, Frank Booth, for tea bags, then went back inside.

On 6 June 2008, Sabina was arrested while recovering at University Hospital of North Staffordshire,[7] and was discharged in a wheelchair on 11 September 2008, at which point she was taken into custody and charged with murder the same day.

Sabina pled guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility on 2 September 2009,[7] having stabbed her victim five times with a kitchen knife.

[1][21][22][23] 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.

Some called for an investigation into the way the criminal justice system handled the matter, including Peter Molloy and MP for Stoke South Rob Flello.

It shows police officers at the roadside after Ursula had been run over, discussing detaining and assessing Sabina on mental health grounds - which may have prevented Hollinshead's murder - but this was not done.