Silent Twins: The Mysterious Case of June and Jennifer Gibbons

Silent Twins: The Mysterious Case of June and Jennifer Gibbons

Twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born in 1963 in the British town of Barbados, but their family moved to Haverfordwest, Wales soon after their birth. The identical sisters, who were inseparable from an early age, developed their own language and refused to communicate with others outside their family. They also showed signs of selective mutism, a psychological condition in which a person cannot speak in certain situations or with certain people.

June and Jennifer's unusual behavior led to their exclusion from school and their confinement to their home, where they spent most of their time writing stories and playing imaginary games. The girls' parents, Gloria and Aubrey Gibbons, had a stormy marriage and often fought in front of their daughters, who reportedly witnessed their father's physical abuse of their mother.

Despite their isolated upbringing, June and Jennifer were talented writers and started to produce novels, poems, and plays when they were teenagers. They also became interested in music and fashion, and began to dress in provocative and flamboyant outfits. However, their artistic talent was overshadowed by their criminal behavior, which started in the early 1980s, when they were in their late teens.

The Silent Twins, as they became known in the media, committed a series of petty crimes, such as thefts and vandalism, that escalated into more serious offenses, such as arson and assault. The twins were arrested several times and spent short periods in jail and mental institutions. However, their behavior did not change, and they continued to plot crimes and to write about their fantasies of violence and revenge.

June and Jennifer's case attracted national attention and raised questions about the links between creativity, mental illness, and criminal behavior. Some experts argued that the twins suffered from folie à deux, a rare psychiatric disorder in which two people share a delusional belief. Others suggested that the sisters had a personality disorder or schizophrenia, and that their closeness was a defense mechanism against their troubled childhood.

In 1993, June and Jennifer agreed to be separated and to live in different institutions, after a psychiatrist explained to them that their continued closeness was preventing their recovery. However, their separation did not have the expected effect, as June suddenly fell into a coma and died a few days later, at the age of 29. The cause of her death remains unclear, but some speculate that she might have taken her own life or succumbed to a medical condition.

Jennifer, who survived her sister, was released from institutional care in 1993 and moved to Wales, where she changed her name and started a new life. She has rarely spoken publicly about her past and has refused to grant interviews or to comment on her sister's death. Jennifer Gibbons remains one of the most enigmatic and haunting figures in the history of true crime and mental health.