June and Jennifer Gibbons, known as "the Silent Twins," have been a source of curiosity ever since their unusual story made headlines in the '80s and '90s. After more than a decade in a psychiatric hospital, the twins calmly revealed that Jennifer had agreed to die so that June could live a normal life. Then, for seemingly no reason, Jennifer did just that.
Due to their volatile relationship, some believe June had something to do with Jennifer's death, while others think that Jennifer somehow took her own life. In the list below, we'll examine the origins, life events, and legacy of the Silent Twins.
June And Jennifer Gibbons Were Inseparable But Had A Volatile Relationship
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Born in 1963, twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were originally from Barbados but relocated to the United Kingdom. The pair rarely spoke to anyone but one another, but despite this intense bond, they seemingly held a lot of disdain for one another and often wrote disturbing diary entries about their relationship.
June once wrote that her sister was driving her insane and that she feared her greatly. Jennifer, on the other hand, expressed her own sentiments that seem to have foreshadowed her untimely demise.
Jennifer claimed that they had "become fatal enemies in each other’s eyes." She described June as her shadow, writing: “Without my shadow, would I die? Without my shadow, would I gain life, be free or left to die?”
The Twins Were Institutionalized Due To Their Increasingly Violent Behavior
After leaving school, June and Jennifer became increasingly violent and unpredictable. They began drinking heavily, using marijuana, and lashing out at each other physically. The twins even attempted to kill one another. Reports indicate that June once tried to drown Jennifer in a local river, and Jennifer tried to strangle June with a radio cord.
In October 1981, June and Jennifer burned down a tractor store together and caused $200,000 worth of damage. They then vandalized and attempted to burn down a local technical college. The sisters were subsequently committed to Broadmoor Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Crowthorne, England.
Jennifer Seemingly Predicted Her Own Death
In March 1993, journalist Marjorie Wallace visited Broadmoor Hospital to interview the sisters, who were about to be transferred to the Caswell Clinic, a lower security institution in Wales. While drinking tea, Jennifer stated that she had decided to die so that June could live a normal life.
On the way to the new institution, Jennifer reportedly slept throughout the trip with her eyes open, and by the time they reached the new clinic, she was unresponsive and later pronounced dead. She passed from inflammation of her heart, but no clear cause of the inflammation was found. Jennifer was said to otherwise be in good health and had no drugs or alcohol in her system.
The Twins Were Isolated By Their Secret Language
After Jennifer passed, June opened up about how the girls had alienated themselves by speaking in their own language. The girls spoke in a sped-up version of English accompanied by synchronized gestures. While this started out as a game, it went on for so long that both girls felt the secret language "trapped" and isolated them. June expressed this in one entry:
We are both holding each other back... There is a murderous gleam in her eye. Dear Lord, I am scared of her. She is not normal. She is having a nervous breakdown. Someone is driving her insane. It is me.
Wallace later commented that the girls' diaries revealed how their close relationship also made them feel "possessed" and "tortured."
Jennifer And June Both Wrote Manuscripts Containing Extreme Violence
The Gibbons twins were apparently both budding writers, but the topics they addressed in their novels were later considered unsettling. Both teens reportedly fantasized about becoming famous for their literary works, and in 1982, June had her novel published through a small press.
June drafted The Pepsi-Cola Addict, a novel about a boy who was sent to reform school after having an affair with a teacher. At his new school, he is subjected to unwanted sexual advances from a male guard. Jennifer wrote a novel titled Discomania that described excessive violence that took place at a disco bar.
Jennifer Was Reportedly Deeply Jealous Of June
While June and Jennifer were born only 10 minutes apart, this reportedly did not stop Jennifer from viewing June as the older, stronger sibling. Jennifer, by June’s own assessment, was extremely jealous of her.
June even wrote in her diary that Jennifer had a “murderous gleam in her eye” and admitted that she feared her sister greatly.
The Girls Walked In Perfect Unison During Adolescence
By age 11, June and Jennifer had begun walking in sync around town, their steps perfectly matched. However, if anyone looked at them, they would freeze completely until the passerby looked away.
The Twins Would Become Catatonic When Separated
By the time they turned 14, June and Jennifer’s parents and teachers were concerned about the girls' development. It was decided that they would be separated to encourage socialization. However, the plan quickly failed when the twins became catatonic until they were reunited.
Following this incident, the sisters returned to spending the bulk of their time alone together.
June Claimed To Have Heard Jennifer's Last Words
June claimed that Jennifer laid her head on June's shoulder shortly before passing, at which point she said, “At long last, we’re out.” These were supposedly Jennifer’s last words, suggesting that her death was intentional. According to Wallace, the twins, who were 29 at the time, had made a "pact." In an interview with NPR, Wallace relayed what the sisters told her:
Jennifer has got to die because they said the day that they left Broadmoor, the day that they were free from the secure hospital, one of them would have to give up their life to really enable the other one to be free.
The Twins Would Hide In Their Room After Leaving School
At age 16, Jennifer left the Eastgate Centre for Special Education and June left St. David’s Adolescent Unit. The sisters were reunited after a nearly two-year separation. When they returned home to their parents and siblings, they became even more reclusive, almost entirely limiting themselves to their shared bedroom for years. Their mother usually had to push mail under their door and leave food outside the room.
During this time, the teens focused on their writing. The family reportedly heard talking, laughing, or fighting on occasion; however, they rarely saw June or Jennifer. Sometimes the girls would write out commands in notes left for their parents.
Jennifer And June Were Bullied In School Due To Their Race
The Gibbons twins lived in the mostly white town of Haverfordwest, and they were reportedly teased mercilessly throughout elementary and middle school because of their race. Their mistreatment got so bad, their teachers allowed them to leave school five minutes early to avoid being harassed.
Jennifer And June Exhibited Strange Behavior During An Interview
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When writer Marjorie Wallace visited the girls at Broadmoor for an interview, they had to be carried in by guards. Wallace claimed that the girls were carried in "like a plank or like a coffin" on the guards' shoulders.
When they sat down, June and Jennifer cast their eyes to the floor, avoiding eye contact. It was only when Wallace asked about the girls' writing that they finally began to talk.
June Wrote A Poem For Jennifer's Headstone
After Jennifer's passing, June wrote that she was "hysterical with grief." She expressed her sorrow and loss through a poem, which she penned for her twin. Jennifer’s headstone is engraved with the poem, “We once were two / We two made one / We no more two / Through life be one / Rest in peace.”
Although an inquest later determined Jennifer passed from natural causes, many, including Wallace, still consider the circumstances surrounding Jennifer's death a "mystery."
June Became Slightly More Social After Jennifer's Passing
With Jennifer's absence, June began to interact more with others. The clinic released her in 1994, and she was accepted back into her community. While she reportedly never became an outgoing person, June was able to live a more conventional life as an independent woman. Wallace explained how June had to reconcile her "terrible grief" and "the freedom that Jennifer had given her."
June reportedly visits her sister's grave every week, and she continues to take medication for what doctors believed to be schizophrenia.
June Never Fulfilled Her Dreams Of Being A Writer
Though some believe that Jennifer may have sacrificed her life so that June could fulfill her dreams, she did not pursue her writing aspirations. In an interview, June explained why she let go of her former hopes and dreams: "I don’t see the point in writing books now. I can communicate by talking now, can’t I?"
June Gibbons is reportedly still alive and lives in Wales.
