Mother and son die as father fights for life after knife attack at home
Police, confronted by a ‘truly horrific’ scene, arrest man who is thought to have been a guest of family
A MOTHER and her 13-year-old son have been stabbed to death and her husband left fighting for his life following an alleged knife attack by a man who had been staying at their home.
Tracey Wilkinson, 50, and her teenage son Pierce, died at their house in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, after being attacked at around 8am yesterday morning.
Her husband, Peter, 47, a company director, was found by police lying in the garden in a pool of blood, having suffered stab wounds to the neck and chest. Last night, he remained in a critical condition in hospital.
Friends suggested that the family had been taking in “down and outs”.
Police who attended the scene later arrested a man in his 20s after a stolen Land Rover rammed a police car a short distance away. Detectives inves- tigating the murder said the man in custody was not a family member, but it was understood he had been staying at their home prior to the incident.
A police source said officers were still trying to establish the nature of the relationship. The Wilkinson’s 18-yearold daughter Lydia, who is in her first year at Bristol University, was being comforted by relatives last night.
Supt Lee Kendrick, from West Midlands Police, described how officers ar- rived at the property to find Mrs Wilkinson and her son inside while her husband was found collapsed in the back garden.
Neil Robinson, who went to school with Mrs Wilkinson, said he believed that she had been helping “down and outs” in the local area and had recently offered to let a man stay at their home.
“I heard she had been helping some down and outs or less fortunate people and put one up at her house and it’s one of them,” he said. Speaking at a press conference at the scene, he also confirmed two police officers had been injured while detaining the suspect. He said: “What has unfolded here today is truly horrific and heartbreaking.
“Officers and paramedics were confronted with an awful scene. A man, a woman and a 13-year-old boy were found all with very serious stab injuries. They are believed to have been inflicted by a man known to the family but not a family relative.”
Mr Kendrick continued: “The family car was stolen and our officers intercepted that car at around 8.30am. Despite being rammed by the vehicle they managed to get the driver and detain him and arrest him on suspicion of murder. Clearly our investigation is at a very early stage but we do believe the suspect was known to the family and we do not think this was a burglary or robbery.”
The man in custody was understood to be known to police. Mr Wilkinson is the managing director of a firm that manufactures safety barriers. No one at his firm was available for comment.
Neighbours described the family as warm, friendly and devoted to one another.