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#twins #truecrime #crimedocumentaries
There's something about twins that fascinates the human psyche.
Most people long for someone who understands them more than anyone—their other half. But twins are born with that person, a few seconds apart, with the same DNA and the same face.
The bond that twins share is one that many study, and when we see them, we can't help but feel like they live in a different world from everyone else. And even though we know that not all families are best friends, we hardly ever expect their bond to be strained to the very extreme—to the point that arguments turn deadly in the blink of an eye.
However, these chilling stories paint a dark picture of those born as doubles.
From the strange case of the Silent Twins to a man who fatally stabbed his twin on New Year's Eve, here are six true stories of people who did the unthinkable to their twin siblings.
There's something about twins that fascinates the human psyche.
Most people long for someone who understands them more than anyone—their other half. But twins are born with that person, a few seconds apart, with the same DNA and the same face.
The bond that twins share is one that many study, and when we see them, we can't help but feel like they live in a different world from everyone else. And even though we know that not all families are best friends, we hardly ever expect their bond to be strained to the very extreme—to the point that arguments turn deadly in the blink of an eye.
However, these chilling stories paint a dark picture of those born as doubles.
From the strange case of the Silent Twins to a man who fatally stabbed his twin on New Year's Eve, here are six true stories of people who did the unthinkable to their twin siblings.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00From the strange case of the silent twins to a man who fatally his twin on New Year's Eve,
00:05here are six true stories of people who did the unthinkable to their twin siblings.
00:12On December 8th, 1964, a murder took place in Temple City, California,
00:18that showed just how much greed and the love of money can surpass all forms of familial love.
00:24Todd and Timothy Nicholson were identical twin brothers who came from wealthy families.
00:28Their father, Edward Nicholson, was an active investor in the Pullman Railroad Empire,
00:34a massive railroad car manufacturing company,
00:36and their great-grandfather, F. Edward Carey, was president of the company.
00:41The boys were also cousins to the Kudahee meatpacking family,
00:45owners of one of the largest packing houses in the USA.
00:48Although the two families weren't close,
00:50it would be an understatement to say that the boys were used to luxury.
00:53But why?
00:54During the trial, claims of the brothers' fondness of each other was blown out of the water.
00:59Todd was allegedly mentally unwell and psychotic.
01:02He'd taken out a life insurance policy in his brother's name
01:05and presented himself as Timothy during the physical exam.
01:09When confronted on the identity theft,
01:12Todd blew up like a volcano and became violent.
01:15He grabbed an automatic pistol,
01:17and in self-defense,
01:18Timothy grabbed a pistol,
01:20fired a warning shot at the ground,
01:22and yelled at his brother to stay away.
01:24During a scuffle,
01:26another shot went off,
01:27and it's then that the .22 caliber bullet struck Todd in the heart,
01:31f***ing him.
01:32However,
01:32the prosecution's witness stated that he had seen
01:35Timothy kick Todd in the back and shout,
01:37I'll f*** you.
01:39In the end,
01:39the jury reached a verdict that Timothy would face
01:42one to ten years in prison,
01:44without the possibility of probation.
01:46However,
01:47he could be paroled after 18 months.
01:50One member of the jury said,
01:52What caused Timothy to develop this great hatred towards his twin brother,
01:55I can't explain.
01:57But it was there.
01:58If you thought this story was harrowing,
02:00then the next t*** will completely surprise you.
02:05This is a case so sinister that it was featured on the third episode of the 2012 true crime documentary
02:11series,
02:12Evil Twins.
02:13Greg and Jeff were identical twins who lived, worked, and played together well into adulthood.
02:18The brothers lived in Douglas County, Georgia, in a small, tight-knit community.
02:23As children, Greg and Jeff were inseparable.
02:26Their mother, Sue, essentially raised them as one person,
02:29and it was clear to see that the brothers were each other's best friends.
02:33Even before they could speak,
02:35they had their own method of communicating,
02:36and soon enough, they showed interest in the same passions.
02:40The two were good with their hands,
02:42always tinkering with small electronics,
02:45taking things apart to see how they worked,
02:47and fixing them together just because they could.
02:49But, if the Henry brothers were so close,
02:52how did Jeff end up hysterical in front of a gas station on a quiet night in December 1991,
02:59muttering to himself,
03:00I shot my brother,
03:01I c***ed him?
03:02The truth will shock you.
03:04Born January 23, 1955,
03:07the twins were the pride of their mother and the joy of the town.
03:10You could never see one without the other,
03:12and that never changed.
03:14The only thing that did change was their personalities.
03:16While Greg was outspoken, outgoing, and popular,
03:20Jeff was quiet and timid.
03:21Greg was a brilliant student at school.
03:24On the other hand,
03:25Jeff could hardly read or write.
03:27What once was two brothers standing side by side became Jeff,
03:31living in the shadow of his better half.
03:34In a sense, there was no Jeff.
03:35There was simply Greg and lesser Greg.
03:38But this was only the beginning of years of torment.
03:42Greg would bully Jeff for his timid personality,
03:45and each time the verbal abuse would turn into physical fighting.
03:49And, although they always made up,
03:51the chasm between them grew wider.
03:54After high school,
03:55Greg got married,
03:56and believing he couldn't live without his brother,
03:59Jeff begged to move in.
04:00Greg agreed,
04:01but it would prove disastrous to his married life.
04:04After only four years,
04:05his wife divorced him.
04:07No problem,
04:08Jeff thought.
04:08Now he had his brother and best friend to himself.
04:11But their bond had since become strange,
04:14abusive.
04:15Greg expected Jeff to act as his own personal maid.
04:18He would berate Jeff,
04:20beat him,
04:20shoot at him with the rifle he owned.
04:23At this point,
04:23the twins were in their early 30s
04:25and living together in an apartment
04:26where there was never a lack of alcohol.
04:29They were constantly drinking,
04:31and it only amplified the violence Jeff faced
04:33at the hands of his brother.
04:35Then man became a nervous wreck,
04:37constantly paranoid and terrified
04:39of what his brother would do to him
04:40until,
04:41in the early hours of December 16th, 1991,
04:45Jeff Henry finally snapped.
04:46The day before was a Sunday,
04:48and,
04:49as usual,
04:50they sat to watch the Atlanta Falcons game.
04:53As always,
04:54beer flowed by the bottle,
04:55and it didn't take long for chaos to ensue.
04:58Jeff brought up an idea for an invention,
05:00and Greg started mocking him.
05:02He had no idea
05:03that would be the last time
05:04he ever bullied his brother.
05:06Greg started fighting.
05:08The two of them
05:08got into some sort of a struggle.
05:12The twins then ended up on the floor,
05:15punching and scratching each other
05:16and pulling their hair.
05:17Greg usually wins these brawls,
05:20but this time,
05:21Jeff refuses to back down.
05:25After the fight on the floor,
05:27Greg gets up,
05:28and he walks into his bedroom,
05:30closes the door.
05:31Jeff's really a pile of nerves.
05:34He doesn't know what's happening.
05:36Jeff said he had heard gunshots.
05:39He often heard gunshots
05:41because his brother would fire a .22 in the house.
05:44Jeff really thinks that this time,
05:46Greg is going to f*** him,
05:47like he's threatened to many times.
05:50At around 2 a.m.,
05:52Jeff picked up his shotgun
05:53and went to his brother's room.
05:55Greg was lying in bed unarmed
05:56when Jeff shot him at point-blank range.
05:59Afterwards, Jeff panicked.
06:00He tried to resuscitate his brother,
06:02but of course,
06:03his efforts were futile.
06:05So covered in his brother's blood,
06:07hysterical and as drunk
06:08as anyone could possibly be,
06:10he drove to the nearest gas station
06:12where he called his mother
06:14from a pay phone.
06:15It was she who contacted the police.
06:17During the trial,
06:18the prosecution argued
06:20it was a clear case of b***h.
06:22However, the defense argued
06:23that Jeff was a battered person,
06:25beaten down by years of bullying and abuse.
06:29Sue, their mother,
06:30told the jury Greg was a monster.
06:33She admitted that he had even turned
06:35his cruel hand to her once.
06:37It was a story she had told dispatch
06:39on the night of the shooting.
06:40I was getting ready to leave.
06:42And I said,
06:43Greg, please.
06:44And he got up and he hit me.
06:47He would have never done that before.
06:50Once he got angry,
06:52it was scary.
06:53Because it was just like
06:54it was on control.
06:55In the end,
06:56the judge declared a mistrial
06:58as the jury could not come
06:59to a unanimous decision,
07:00and Jeff accepted a plea deal
07:02to plead guilty
07:03and serve about three years in prison.
07:06The Henry brothers
07:07aren't the only twins
07:08who fought with each other
07:09until the bitter moment
07:10when one took the other's life.
07:14Power the body,
07:15power the soul.
07:16That's exactly what you get
07:17in our hot power yoga discipline.
07:19The next case involves money,
07:21alcohol,
07:22and a sibling rivalry
07:23that turned deadly.
07:24On May 29, 2016,
07:27a car plunged off a cliff
07:28in Maui, Hawaii,
07:30and crashed into
07:31the harsh grounds below.
07:33Afterwards,
07:33two bodies were pulled out,
07:35identical twins.
07:36One had survived the crash
07:38with minor injuries.
07:39The other was dead.
07:41But what struck the people
07:42who noticed this fatal accident
07:43wasn't the shock
07:45of seeing a car crash
07:46or the panic
07:47of those trapped in the car.
07:49It was the fact that,
07:50right until the very moment
07:52the SUV flew off the road,
07:54the two women were screaming
07:55and pulling at each other's hair.
07:57Soon afterwards,
07:58the twin who survived,
07:59Alexandria,
08:00was accused of her sister's m******.
08:02But how did we get here?
08:03Born in 1978
08:05in Utica, New York,
08:06Allison and Ann Dadao
08:08suffered a terrible tragedy
08:09when, at the tender ages of five,
08:12they lost their mother.
08:13The loss only brought them
08:15closer to each other,
08:16and the twins ended up
08:17opening their own yoga studio together.
08:20Twin power yoga studios
08:22in Palm Beach County, Florida
08:24was their pride and joy
08:26and the women became locally famous
08:27for their magnetic personalities.
08:30Despite their closeness,
08:31the twins had wildly
08:32different personalities.
08:34Alexandria had a larger-than-life,
08:36dominant personality,
08:38while Anastasia was the sweetest,
08:40kindest,
08:41most level-heated person
08:42you would ever meet.
08:43With the success of their studio,
08:45the two could afford
08:46to get matching Porsches,
08:47and it wasn't long
08:48before their personalities
08:49opened them up
08:50to new opportunities.
08:51Leslie McMichael,
08:52who served as the twins'
08:54spiritual advisor,
08:55encouraged the twins
08:56to consider getting
08:57their own TV show.
08:59They met up with
09:00some interested producers
09:01and said producers
09:02pushed them into renting
09:03a more expensive space
09:04for a new studio in 2011.
09:06However,
09:07when the show never even
09:08ended up being recorded,
09:10the Duval twins were left
09:11with approximately
09:12$150,000 in debt each.
09:15Three years later,
09:16in 2014,
09:17they shut down
09:18their yoga studios,
09:19without paying employees
09:21or refunding customers
09:22who had already paid
09:23for their memberships.
09:25Alexandria and Anastasia
09:26left Florida
09:27and moved to Park City, Utah.
09:29It was there
09:30that they changed their names
09:31with the goal
09:31of writing a book.
09:32They also opened
09:33a local studio.
09:35Unfortunately,
09:36they were still
09:36thousands of dollars
09:37in debt
09:38and had to file
09:39for bankruptcy.
09:40It seems that
09:41their financial troubles
09:42plunged the sisters
09:43into a world
09:44of bad habits
09:45because they ended up
09:46drinking a lot
09:47and engaging
09:47in disorderly conduct.
09:49They also fought a lot.
09:51In between the fighting,
09:53they were like
09:54normal sisters.
09:56They would like
09:56finish each other's sentences
09:58and know what
09:59the other one
09:59was looking for
10:00before the other one
10:01even said anything.
10:02In January 2014,
10:03the pair was kicked
10:04out of a restaurant
10:05for drinking too much
10:06and crashed their car
10:07into a ditch
10:08where the police officer
10:09met them fighting
10:10and pulling each other's hair.
10:12Boldly enough,
10:13the pair also fought
10:14with the officer.
10:15The two had been
10:16party animals
10:17since their teenage years
10:18at Notre Dame High School
10:19in Utica, New York,
10:20smoking cigarettes
10:21and marijuana
10:22and drinking heavily.
10:24In 2014,
10:25Anastasia's record
10:26showed an arrest
10:27near Ogden,
10:28Utah,
10:28for public intoxication,
10:30assault on a police officer,
10:32disorderly conduct
10:33and interfering
10:34with an arrest
10:35while Allison's record
10:36included arrests
10:36on suspicion of DUI,
10:38fleeing the scene
10:39of an accident,
10:40driving without insurance,
10:42disorderly conduct
10:43and public intoxication.
10:45The following year
10:46in 2015,
10:47the Duval twins
10:48were determined
10:49to change their attitudes.
10:50They moved to Hawaii
10:51to begin a religious quest,
10:53but whatever enlightenment
10:54they sought after,
10:56they never found
10:56as their terrible conduct
10:58continued.
10:59On Christmas Eve
11:00of that year,
11:01they were arrested
11:02for disorderly conduct
11:03and terroristic threatening.
11:05By the time May 2016
11:07rolled around,
11:08not much had changed
11:09about their lives.
11:11Alexandria and Anastasia
11:12were now 37,
11:14and they lived
11:14with their boyfriends,
11:16Lonnie Dickerson
11:16and Federico Bailey,
11:18in a sleek Maui rental,
11:20but the twins
11:20were still terrible
11:22to each other.
11:22In an interview
11:23with people Keith Weiss,
11:25an ex-boyfriend
11:25of Anastasia,
11:26they would really
11:27get into it.
11:28I remember this one time
11:29the three of us
11:30were at the mall,
11:31and Ann smacked Allison
11:32in the back of the head.
11:34Hard.
11:35They raged.
11:36They went back and forth
11:37with each other,
11:38pulling hair,
11:38pinching each other.
11:40He said,
11:40it was as if they had
11:42blocked everything out
11:42around them.
11:43Their issues with alcohol
11:44were also a terribly
11:45kept secret.
11:47An ex told
11:47the Palm Beach Post,
11:49they were great people
11:50when they were sober,
11:51but the minute
11:51they started drinking,
11:52they were like Jekyll
11:53and Hyde.
11:55Everything came to an end
11:56when in that same month,
11:58disaster struck.
11:59Federico Bailey
12:00and Anastasia
12:01were supposed to go
12:02on a couple's camping trip,
12:03you know,
12:04an intimate getaway
12:04between partners.
12:06Only Alexandria came too,
12:08and as was commonplace
12:09between them now,
12:10the two started fighting.
12:12At some point,
12:13the two left the campgrounds,
12:14and where they returned,
12:15they were in good moods,
12:17drunk.
12:18Federico walked away
12:19to compose himself,
12:20and by the time he got back,
12:21the twins had taken off
12:22in his SUV.
12:23Soon afterwards,
12:25witnesses saw the car
12:26plunge off a cliff
12:27as the women inside
12:28argued and pulled
12:29one another's hair.
12:30You know how that ended.
12:32Alexandria survived.
12:33Anastasia died.
12:35It didn't take long
12:35for prosecutors
12:36to point to a clear case
12:37of murder.
12:38The intent of the driver,
12:40just from our investigation,
12:41showed is that
12:42she definitely intended
12:43to drive that car
12:45off the cliff
12:45at that point.
12:46Alexandria was accused
12:47of intentionally crashing
12:48the car to her sister
12:49in a fit of rage.
12:51She was driving.
12:52She was the one
12:53who went off the cliff.
12:54Witnesses reported
12:55that she showed
12:56no signs of breaking.
12:57It must have been intentional.
12:58This was not accidental.
13:00This accusation
13:01is only further corroborated
13:02by their history
13:03and claims from
13:04Anastasia's boyfriend,
13:05Keith Weiss,
13:06who recalled one instance
13:07where Anastasia called him
13:09as she hit Alexandria
13:10with the phone,
13:11claiming she was ready
13:12to m*** her sister.
13:14However,
13:14the defense claimed
13:15that Alexandria was innocent
13:17and was devastated
13:18by the loss of her sister
13:20after a tragic accident.
13:22In 2018,
13:23Alexandria was acquitted
13:24of a m***ing charge.
13:25However,
13:26it seems like she just
13:27can't stay out of trouble
13:28as in April 2023,
13:31she was arrested
13:31on charges of DWI
13:33and first-degree aggravated
13:35unlicensed operation
13:36of a motor vehicle.
13:37Sadly,
13:38the Duval twins
13:39isn't the only case
13:41where twin m***ing
13:41ended in an inconclusive trial.
13:46When,
13:47in 2007,
13:49Wassil Ali's body
13:50was found asphyxiated
13:51in a field
13:51a few blocks away
13:52from a mall
13:53in Columbia, Maryland,
13:54there were no pointers
13:55as to who c***ed him.
13:57Wassil was laid to rest
13:58and the case went cold.
13:59That was until
14:00four years later
14:01in 2011,
14:02when a cold-case detective
14:04picked up the file
14:05and sought out
14:05Wassil's twin brother,
14:07Whale,
14:07for being the primary suspect
14:09in the m***er
14:10of his brother.
14:11Did he really do it?
14:12Keep watching
14:13to find out.
14:14The twins were born
14:15in Khartoum,
14:17capital of Sudan,
14:18where their father,
14:19Jihad Ali,
14:20served in the army
14:20and their mother,
14:21Nagwa Hussein,
14:22worked as a social worker.
14:24In the 1990 AS,
14:26Jihad Ali took his family
14:28and immigrated to Maryland.
14:30During their childhoods,
14:31there was no bad blood
14:32between Whale and Wassil.
14:34The twins slept
14:35in the same bed,
14:36did nearly everything together
14:37and if one got sick,
14:39you could expect the other
14:40to fall ill too
14:41before the next day.
14:43Following in their father's
14:44military footsteps,
14:46the two signed up
14:46for the U.S. Army
14:47immediately after graduating
14:49from Wild Lake High School
14:50in 2006.
14:52Although the two had big plans
14:53to be high-ranking
14:54military officers,
14:56they would skip out of the army
14:57in no time at all.
14:58The twins had stolen
15:00an army vehicle
15:00from Fort Meade,
15:02MD,
15:02and were arrested
15:03while using it
15:04to pull over a vehicle
15:04on Route 29.
15:06They moved back
15:07with their family in Columbia
15:08and took up jobs
15:09at the mall.
15:10Wassil worked at Banana Republic
15:11while Whale sold phones.
15:13It seemed like they would
15:14finally be living
15:15quiet, productive lives,
15:17but nope,
15:18not by a long shot.
15:19In 2007,
15:20the twins impersonated
15:21police officers
15:22in Clarendon Ballroom
15:23in Virginia
15:24and, of course,
15:25got into trouble
15:26with the law for that.
15:27The story goes
15:28that Whale blamed Wassil
15:30for what happened
15:31and they ended up fighting
15:32when they got home.
15:33Days later,
15:34the police raised their house
15:36looking for firearms
15:37while the boys
15:38and their father
15:38sat on the floor
15:39in handcuffs.
15:40That same evening,
15:42Wassil went back
15:43to the mall
15:43where he attempted
15:44to implicate his brother
15:45in a shoplifting scheme.
15:47Whale was sent
15:48to pick up his brother,
15:49but Wassil never came home.
15:51His body was found
15:52days later
15:53in a wooded area
15:54where the twins
15:54used to hang out
15:55with friends.
15:56The cartilage
15:57in the bottom
15:57of Wassil's neck
15:58had been broken
15:59suggesting that
16:00he had been strangled.
16:01He was only 19.
16:03There was no primary
16:04suspect for the case,
16:05no one to pin the **** to.
16:07It went cold.
16:09The family mourned,
16:10laid Wassil to rest
16:11and everything went quiet.
16:14Whale enrolled in college
16:15to study criminology
16:16and four years went by
16:18without incident.
16:19Then 2011 came
16:20and after a cold case detective
16:22picked up Wassil's **** case
16:23and the authorities
16:24interviewed Whale,
16:25they decided to charge him
16:27with free ****.
16:28Case division
16:29and they continue to work
16:30over the course
16:31of the four years.
16:32That's what we're here to do,
16:34to not give up
16:35on those cases
16:36and that's exactly
16:37what our cold case detectives
16:38were able to achieve
16:39in this case.
16:39He was arrested
16:40in the middle of the night
16:41in September 2011
16:42while studying for exams.
16:45Whale had been living
16:45outside of Atlanta
16:46and Howard County police
16:47say they were able
16:48to catch up with him
16:49after more than four years
16:51of investigative work.
16:52Lee will eventually
16:53return to Howard County
16:54with a **** charge
16:55to his name.
16:56He's accused of ****.
16:57His twin brother
16:58was cell four years ago
16:59in Columbia
16:59and was arrested
17:00outside of Atlanta
17:01this morning.
17:02Prosecutors claimed
17:03that Whale,
17:04on instruction
17:04from his father,
17:06had picked his brother
17:07from the mall
17:07but Wassil never made it home
17:09because Whale had taken him
17:10to the wooded area
17:11to ****.
17:12But the case was closed
17:13due to lack of evidence.
17:15Prosecutors had no DNA
17:16at the crime scene.
17:18The twins being,
17:19well, twins,
17:20meant that they shared
17:21the same DNA.
17:22There was also
17:23no **** weapon.
17:25The votes from the jury
17:26were 11 for not guilty
17:27and one for guilty.
17:29There was no retrial
17:30and Whale Ali walked out
17:32of the courtroom
17:32a free man.
17:33His parents stated
17:34that they never
17:35for one second
17:36believed that Whale
17:37**** his brother.
17:38In a 2012 interview
17:40with the Washington Post,
17:41their mother said,
17:42everybody knew
17:43how much they loved each other.
17:45Whale returned
17:46to the Atlanta area
17:47where he resided
17:48for school
17:48and again,
17:50all was quiet.
17:51That was until
17:52the 1st of November,
17:532013,
17:54when Whale was at a restaurant
17:56showing his close friend,
17:57Raouf Sanad,
17:58his gun.
17:58The gun went off
18:00and Whale was shot dead.
18:02Sanad was charged
18:03with involuntary manslaughter,
18:05but with the primary suspect
18:07to a now 6-year-old
18:08**** case being dead,
18:09there were no answers left
18:10to who
18:11Wassil Ali's **** was.
18:13Whale was laid to rest
18:14next to his brother.
18:16It seems like twins
18:17and fatal arguments
18:18go hand in hand.
18:19At least that's very much
18:20the case
18:21with the next twin ****
18:22we're looking at.
18:2531-year-old Robert Serqua
18:27fatally ****ed his twin brother
18:29Christopher Serqua
18:30with a kitchen knife
18:31on New Year's Eve
18:32in 2013.
18:34****ing occurred
18:35in their family home
18:36in Hythe,
18:37a town in Hampshire, England.
18:38The brothers were sharing
18:39a bedroom
18:40after their long-term
18:41relationships
18:42had ended on bad notes
18:43and engaging
18:44in hearty New Year's drinking
18:45was right up their alley.
18:47It was a way to bond
18:48over their shared sorrow
18:49and forget it all.
18:51As is with the case
18:52with these stories,
18:53Robert and Christopher
18:54grew up inseparable
18:55as children.
18:56The two spent most
18:57of their time together,
18:59each going into
18:59the building trade
19:00as adults.
19:01Robert worked
19:02as a bricklayer
19:03and plasterer,
19:04while Christopher
19:05worked as a carpenter.
19:06Their overlapping fields
19:07meant they often worked
19:08on jobs together,
19:10strengthening their bond.
19:11They went fishing together,
19:12played golf together,
19:14any hobby Christopher
19:15was into.
19:16Robert got into too.
19:18They were just that close.
19:20However,
19:20the time they spent together
19:21reduced drastically
19:22when they started dating
19:23in their early 20s.
19:25Christopher and his girlfriend
19:26often argued
19:27and whatever issues
19:28they had changed him.
19:29He became addicted
19:31to skunk.
19:31That's cannabis
19:32for those who don't know
19:33and spent a lot of money on it,
19:35smoking up to pound 80
19:37worth a day.
19:38According to Robert,
19:39the drugs made his twin mad.
19:41Christopher would bite him
19:42and they argued
19:43more often than not,
19:44especially when they were drunk.
19:46That New Year's Eve,
19:47the two sat down
19:48at the kitchen table
19:49with cans of lager
19:50while their parents
19:51were upstairs.
19:52They drank,
19:53laughed,
19:54and sang together.
19:55It seemed like,
19:56at least for that night,
19:57their bond was still
19:58as strong as ever.
19:59To add to the festive mood,
20:01Robert had just entered
20:02into a new relationship
20:04and he planned
20:05to set up his own business.
20:06The only thing left
20:08was for Robert
20:08to confront his brother
20:09about his cannabis addiction.
20:11According to Robert,
20:13he also wanted to make sure
20:14that Christopher
20:15would be able to get on
20:16better with his new girlfriend
20:17than he had with his ex.
20:18But the mood quickly soured
20:20and after Christopher
20:21demanded a can
20:22of one of Robert's beers
20:23and he refused,
20:24things turned
20:25from bad to deadly.
20:27During his trial,
20:28Robert told the jury
20:29that his memory was hazy
20:30but Christopher
20:31had brandished
20:31a kitchen knife at him
20:33and the two fought.
20:34Then he heard Christopher yelp
20:35and when he looked down,
20:37he had the knife
20:37and his twin was bleeding.
20:39Peter Serqua,
20:40the twin's father,
20:41tried to save Christopher
20:42while their mother Denise
20:43called 999.
20:45While that was happening,
20:47Robert panicked
20:47and ran out of the house
20:48without pausing
20:49to put on his shoes,
20:50without looking back
20:51to see exactly
20:52what he had done
20:53to his brother.
20:54From there,
20:55Robert carried on drinking
20:56with his girlfriend
20:56at a party.
20:57It was there
20:58that he saw in the New Year.
21:00The police found him drunk
21:01and in the early hours
21:03of New Year's Day,
21:04Robert Serqua
21:05was told that his brother,
21:06his twin,
21:07was dead.
21:08It is reported
21:09that during the police interview,
21:10he said,
21:11I c***ed my f***ing brother.
21:13Nine out of ten times
21:14it would be all right.
21:15Just my luck,
21:16he had to die on me.
21:18Robert claimed
21:19that the m***h
21:19was an accident
21:20that happened
21:21in self-defense,
21:22but the trial revealed
21:23that he was a violent man.
21:25He had served
21:25previous prison sentences
21:26for offenses of battery
21:28and domestic incidents
21:29involving his former partners.
21:31He also had previous convictions
21:32for motoring offenses
21:34and criminal damage.
21:35In 2014,
21:37the jury returned
21:38a majority 10-2 guilty verdict
21:40and Robert was sentenced
21:41to serve a minimum
21:42of 13 years in prison.
21:46The story of June
21:48and Jennifer Gibbons
21:48can be described
21:49in many ways.
21:50Chilling,
21:51surreal,
21:52heartbreaking.
21:53But the tale
21:54of these twins
21:55who shut everyone
21:56out of their world
21:56and only spoke to each other
21:58is hardly fiction.
21:59Their story
22:00only waxes strange
22:01when,
22:02in March 1993,
22:03one of the twins
22:04mysteriously dies.
22:06Born on the 11th of April,
22:081963 in Aden,
22:10Yemen to parents
22:11Aubrey and Gloria Gibbons,
22:12the twins grew up in Wales
22:14after their parents
22:15moved the family
22:15to the United Kingdom
22:16in the early 1960s.
22:18The two had a speech impediment
22:20that made it hard
22:20for others to understand them,
22:22but June and Jennifer
22:23clearly understood each other.
22:25They had their own language
22:27and spoke it fluently
22:28to each other.
22:28We had our language.
22:31Me and my sister spoke.
22:32We knew what we were saying.
22:34My mother had to guess
22:35what we were saying.
22:36And she was the one
22:37that was a bit worried about us.
22:38At some point,
22:39their parents could guess
22:40what they were saying,
22:41but soon,
22:42their language was unintelligible
22:43to outsiders.
22:45Killed it between themselves.
22:46That was the thing
22:46with the twins, you know.
22:47They could make signs.
22:49If you ask one a question,
22:51say June,
22:51she'll have to look at Jenny
22:52before they communicate.
22:53That seemed to run
22:54most twins, you know,
22:55look at each other
22:56before they could answer.
22:58They would just look up.
22:59You saw the glance.
23:01However,
23:02being the only black children
23:03in their community,
23:04the twins and their siblings
23:06were bullied relentlessly
23:07in school.
23:08Their speech impediment
23:09and quiet attitudes
23:10certainly didn't help matters,
23:11but the more they were mocked,
23:13the more they swore
23:14to only speak to each other.
23:16And we were a different color.
23:18So, um,
23:19they picked on us.
23:21We were like that.
23:22And we didn't speak to anybody.
23:24They got like extra swings.
23:25And we didn't speak to anybody.
23:27And they kept saying,
23:28why wouldn't they speak?
23:29Can they speak English?
23:31Why wouldn't they talk?
23:32The bullying got so much
23:33that the school administrators
23:35would dismiss them minutes earlier
23:36than the other students
23:37to prevent them
23:38from mingling
23:38with their aggressors.
23:40And as the years went by,
23:41the twins completely shut themselves
23:43from the outside world.
23:45The twins became
23:46increasingly reclusive,
23:47would often mirror each other
23:49and spoke to no one
23:50except each other
23:50and their younger sister Rose.
23:52At school,
23:53they refused to read or write.
23:54And at some point,
23:55a medic recommended
23:56that they see a child psychologist.
23:59Therapists came and went,
24:00but June and Jennifer never changed.
24:02With worry about
24:03their reclusive behaviors rising,
24:05they were sent
24:06to separate boarding schools,
24:07but the pair remained silent
24:08and withdrew themselves entirely.
24:11You could say
24:11they loved each other dearly,
24:13to the point that
24:13they refused to let
24:14anyone else break their bond.
24:16But the twins were very aware
24:18of how unhealthy
24:19their relationship was.
24:20Over the years,
24:21they would grow
24:22to somewhat despise each other,
24:24believing that one of them
24:25had to die for the other
24:26to live a normal life.
24:27But before then,
24:28their troubled teenage years
24:30were the beginning of their end.
24:31The Gibbons twins
24:32began using drugs and alcohol.
24:35In a way,
24:36it made them feel
24:36like normal teenagers
24:38after a lifetime of isolation.
25:00At this point,
25:02the twins had begun
25:03to keep diaries.
25:04Their writings were eloquent
25:05and revealed the parts
25:06of their thoughts
25:07they never spoke to others about.
25:08They spoke of their loneliness,
25:11the bullying,
25:12the arson.
25:13Yes, unfortunately,
25:14the girls committed
25:15a number of crimes,
25:17including vandalism,
25:18petty theft,
25:19and arson,
25:19which led to them
25:20being admitted
25:21to Broadmoor Hospital
25:22in 1981.
25:24Bradmoor Hospital
25:25was a high-security
25:26mental health hospital,
25:27and June and Jennifer
25:29were sentenced
25:29to an indefinite
25:30detention period there.
25:32While they did break the law,
25:33the two were held
25:34at Bradmoor for 11 years.
25:36June maintained
25:37that this sentence
25:38was because of their
25:38selective muteness.
25:40She said,
25:40juvenile delinquents
25:42get two years in prison.
25:43We got 12 years of hell
25:44because we didn't speak.
25:46We lost hope, really.
25:47I wrote a letter to the Queen
25:48asking her to get us out,
25:50but we were trapped.
25:52Even after they began
25:53to talk to the psychologists
25:54at the hospital
25:55and other individuals,
25:56the twins still weren't released.
26:00hearings, court hearings,
26:01every year.
26:03And they say,
26:05well, I'd give my friends
26:06still need to make progress.
26:09We've got a couple of years.
26:11And we say,
26:12a couple of years?
26:12What's going on?
26:13We're normal.
26:15So next year,
26:16they say,
26:18and the girls
26:19can make a little bit
26:20more progress.
26:21We'll keep them here
26:21for another year.
26:30In the hospital,
26:31they continued
26:32to keep diaries
26:33and write plays.
26:34The twins were placed
26:35on high doses
26:36of antipsychotic medications
26:38to help with what the doctors
26:39believed to be
26:40schizophrenic tendencies,
26:41but it made it difficult
26:42for them to concentrate.
26:44Jennifer also developed
26:46a neurological disorder
26:47that resulted in
26:48involuntary repetitive movements.
26:50Despite this,
26:51the medications
26:52were later adjusted
26:53and both Jennifer and June
26:55were able to join
26:56the hospital choir
26:57and engage in normal activity.
26:59It is said that
27:00Jennifer and June Gibbons
27:01agreed that
27:01if one of them died,
27:03the other must begin
27:04to speak and live
27:05a normal life.
27:06And while at the hospital,
27:08Jennifer agreed
27:08to sacrifice herself
27:09for the good of her sister.
27:11In March 1993,
27:13a month before
27:14their 30th birthday,
27:15the twins finally
27:16gained permission
27:17to be transferred
27:17from Broadmoor
27:18to the Medium Security Hospital,
27:20Caswell Clinic,
27:21in Bridge and Wales.
27:23After 11 long years,
27:24it was freedom at last.
27:26But a day before
27:27they were transported...
27:42Jennifer fell ill.
27:44Jennifer slept in June's lap
27:50with her eyes open.
27:51On arrival at the Caswell,
27:53Jennifer didn't wake up.
27:55She was taken to the hospital,
27:56where she died soon after
27:58of acute myocarditis,
27:59a sudden inflammation
28:01of the heart muscle,
28:02a rare disorder
28:03that isn't usually fatal,
28:05one that they never thought
28:06would strike her down.
28:07The phone went about 9 o'clock
28:10at night,
28:10and it was Aubrey
28:11to say that
28:13Jennifer had died.
28:23And, um...
28:24sorry for Jennifer
28:25lying in the hospital morgue,
28:28you know,
28:29it was devastating.
28:30There she was,
28:31you know,
28:33lying peacefully,
28:35but...
28:35I still had bits
28:36of this test,
28:37you know,
28:37on her,
28:38I think,
28:38on her forehead,
28:39on her bits and pieces
28:40put on her
28:41when they're doing this test,
28:42you know.
28:43It was shocking.
28:46And then I said,
28:46can I see her?
28:48I was lying there
28:48in the hospital bed,
28:50lying there,
28:50quite stiff.
28:51And they left me
28:52in there half an hour.
28:54Her hat was on the sideboard,
28:56her earrings were on the sideboard,
28:57so I took the hat
28:59and the earrings,
29:00and I kept them
29:01for this day.
29:03And the dress that she was wearing,
29:04I kept that as well,
29:05as a souvenir,
29:08as a mark of respect for her.
29:13I was quite devastated.
29:15When I knew she was dead,
29:17and she just couldn't,
29:20wasn't there anymore.
29:22June and Jennifer Gibbons
29:23were ostracized
29:24because of their race
29:25and their speech impediment.
29:26Their only comfort
29:27was found in each other.
29:29At some point,
29:30their codependency
29:31grew so unhealthy
29:32that the twins
29:33could not find a way out of it.
29:35It seemed that death
29:36was the only escape.
29:37It was reported
29:38that a few days
29:39after Jennifer's death,
29:40June was in a strange mood.
29:42She said,
29:43I'm free at last,
29:44liberated,
29:45and at last,
29:46Jennifer has given up
29:47her life for me.
29:48Jennifer Gibbons
29:49was laid to rest
29:49in St. Martin Cemetery,
29:51Haverford West,
29:52Pembrokeshire, Wales.
29:53Were June and Jennifer
29:55conniving outcasts
29:56who intentionally decided
29:57to shut the world out?
29:58Or were they misunderstood geniuses
30:00who were failed
30:01by both their parents
30:02and society?
30:03Let us know your thoughts
30:04us in the comments below.
30:12I'll see you then.
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