A father's monstrous crime left his young daughter grappling with a legacy of horror, bullying, and a chilling token from behind bars. Jamie Lee Arrow was just nine years old when her world shattered upon learning her father had not only murdered but cannibalised his girlfriend.
A Childhood Shattered by a Father's Atrocity
Jamie Lee Arrow's father, Isakin Drabbad, had separated from her mother when she was a toddler. Despite this, Jamie maintained contact and grew close to his new partner, Helle Christensen, who became a maternal figure. However, their relationship was violently toxic, with Jamie witnessing frequent disturbing rows.
In a moment of grim foreshadowing, Helle once served Jamie a meal and warned her: "Enjoy your meal... this is the last time I'll ever cook for you, because Isakin is going to kill me." Tragically, this prophecy came true. In November 2010, Drabbad, a self-described Satanist, slashed Helle's throat, beheaded her, and consumed parts of her body.
The Gruesome Details and a Life in Hiding
During the trial, the Swedish public was horrified by reports detailing how Drabbad used the same blade to cut away Helle's clothing. Armed with a knife, saw, and axe, he decapitated her and carved flesh from her limbs, which he fried with cannabis leaves. He reportedly even intended to eat her head.
Jamie's mother desperately tried to shield her. "I wasn't allowed to watch TV," Jamie recalled. "I wasn't allowed to listen to the radio, I wasn't allowed to go to shops. I wasn't allowed to go to school for a month." Curtains were kept drawn as neighbours tried to peek in. The truth became unavoidable when Jamie saw her father's face splashed across Sweden's biggest newspaper. Unfamiliar with the word "cannibal," she later searched for its meaning online and was horrified.
Notoriety, a Twisted Gift, and a Path to Closure
Even after being convicted and placed in the Karsudden Regional Hospital secure mental facility, Drabbad courted infamy. He started a relationship with another patient, the "Vampire killer" Michelle Gustafsson, ran a blog about his crimes, and sold handmade voodoo dolls signed in his own blood.
Bullied relentlessly at school as "the cannibal's daughter," Jamie spiralled, dropping out at 14 and becoming addicted to drugs. When she later visited her father in prison, he gave her one of his voodoo dolls, claiming it could harm her bullies. Despite some deep conversations where she expressed love and forgiveness, Drabbad ultimately severed contact with a threatening text message. "It gave me the closure I needed," Jamie said. "It was like I needed that to understand how sick it all is."
Today, Jamie's focus is on protecting her own children from the darkness she endured, determined to break the cycle of trauma that began with her father's heinous cannibal murder of Helle Christensen.
