Naman Shrestha
Harboring a dark side from his early days, Isakin Drabbad gave in to his demons in 2010 by brutally killing his girlfriend, Helle Christensen. He went a step further by displaying cannibalistic behavior after the fact. Also dubbed the Skara Cannibal, he made an appearance on the episode titled ‘My Father the Cannibal’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks.’ Being the first interview after the murder, he talked about his side of the story and tried to defend his crimes while being face-to-face with his daughter, Jamie-Lee Arrow.
Isakin Drabbad Was Convicted of Murdering His Girlfriend
Isakin Daniel Drabbad (née Jimmy Daniel Isaksson) was born on October 14, 1978, in Köping, Sweden. When he was two years old, he and his family relocated to Västerås. From an early age, he started getting into trouble with the law, especially for drug-related crimes and robberies. Growing up, he reportedly checked into institutions every once in a while. In July 2001, he entered fatherhood as his then-girlfriend gave birth to Jamie-Lee. Due to his short temper, he allegedly kept her daughter on the edge most of the time. Although he shared her custody with his former partner, he got to spend time with Jamie-Lee only on weekends and holidays.
In 2009, Isakin reportedly crossed paths with Helle Christensen at a psychiatry clinic in Borås, where they were admitted at the time. Finding a connection over their difficult past and mental health issues, the two began dating. Not long after, they started getting into heated arguments on a regular basis, leading to the deterioration of their relationship. On November 12, 2010, Isakin became the Skara Cannibal as he not only killed Helle, but he also reportedly ate parts of her body. After committing the horrific crime, he turned himself in to the authorities, claiming, “I want to do the right thing for myself. What I have done now, I have no idea that I have actually done it, but I have woken up.”
During the police interrogation, he alleged that he felt as if there were several people in the room during the murder, indicating that he was not mentally sound at the time. Thus, after getting formally arrested for the murder of Helle Christensen on November 14, he went through a thorough forensic psychiatric examination, which showed that he had a mental disorder. After the news broke out, his relationship with his daughter, Jamie-Lee, also suffered. The following year, he was found guilty of murder. Regardless, instead of getting sentenced to prison, he was ordered to serve his time at Karsudden Hospital in Katrineholm, where he received the necessary forensic psychiatric care. In addition, he also had to pay SEK 75,000 to Helle’s parents and another SEK 75,000 to each of her five children.
While Serving Time in the Hospital, Isakin Began Dating Another Convict
During his time at the mental health institution, Isakin Drabbad formed a romantic bond with another murderer inmate, Michelle Gustafsson, who had earned herself the nickname “Vampire Woman.” On November 13, 2011, the two officially started dating before getting engaged nearly a month later, on December 9. They also joined forces to start a blog in 2012 and mockingly blogged about their respective crimes from the hospital computer. In one of the blogs, he reportedly wrote, “Most people say at some point in their lives that they could never take someone else’s life. But once you’ve done it once, it’s no big deal anymore.” A couple of years after his sentencing, Isakin was allowed to reunite with his daughter, but inside the hospital.
As he slowly became a part of her life, Isakin allegedly managed to instill some of his disturbing ideologies, such as voodoo dolls and selling one’s soul to the devil for a better life, into her vulnerable mind. In 2016, he was allowed to spend several hours per week outside of the hospital without any supervision, most of which he spent with Jamie-Lee. When he was confronted by her about the murder, he claimed that it was Helle’s wish that he kill her. As per his accounts, she used to ask him to kill her ever since they got together. He told her that the reason he ate her flesh was to avoid going to prison. After the father and daughter got into a heated argument, their relationship got strained, and the latter distanced herself from the former. Not only that, but in 2017, his relationship with Michelle also ended.
Isakin Currently Lives Independently But is Required to Check in at the Hospital Frequently
After severing ties with Michelle, Isakin Drabbad started selling voodoo dolls and other disturbing items online from the hospital in 2017. At the same time, he also ran a YouTube channel, where he regularly posted clips of himself in the hospital and when he was out. Around April 2017, he requested his medical treatment to end, but was denied because the authorities reported that he still had a mental disorder, posing a risk to society if he relapsed. A few months later, reports about him wanting to marry his new girlfriend, one of the caregivers at Karsudden Hospital, surfaced.
When the hospital found out that the woman’s professional relationship with Isakin had turned romantic, his request to marry her was denied. Although she denied a romantic relationship with her patient, she resigned from her job and was considered a security risk. According to reports, despite all the complications, the two continued to stay in contact. Although he is reportedly still under forensic psychiatric care, Isakin Drabbad has his name registered to a property in Katrineholm, where he seemingly spends his leaves of absence from the hospital.
Read More: Jamie-Lee Arrow: Where is Isakin Drabbad’s Daughter Now?
