Mother-of-two on British murder charge left Ireland without telling family

A MOTHER of two from north Cork has appeared in court in England accused of stabbing a 54-year-old man to death.

Eriksson, aged 40, was said to have jumped from a bridge above the A50 roadway following the alleged murder.

She denies murdering Mr Hollinshead, whose body was found behind his house in Duke Street near the town of Fenton on May 20 last year.

Eriksson’s trial has been fixed for September at Nottingham Crown Court.

At Stafford Crown Court yesterday Judge Simon Tonking remanded Eriksson in continuing custody until her trial date.

The judge heard that the accused was of no fixed abode at the time of the alleged murder but that she had previously lived in Mallow, Co Cork, for a number of years. Eriksson was married with two young children and had lived on the northside of Mallow.

Last year her sister came to visit her and the mother-of-two suddenly decided to leave with her for England.

A Garda source said that Eriksson simply left the house one morning without even telling her husband or her two children that she was going.

The source said it remains unknown why the mother-of-two left so suddenly.

Gardaí were informed of her arrest on suspicion of murder after police in England were attempting to contact Eriksson’s husband. “It’s a mystery why she left, especially without telling her husband and their children,” the Garda source said.