Dad tells of moment he woke from surgery to be told his son, 13, had been stabbed to death alongside his wife ‘by homeless man’
A FATHER has revealed the moment he woke from surgery to be told his 13-year-old son died in a savage knife attack alongside his wife.
Peter Wilkinson, who was stabbed six times himself, knew his wife Tracey, 50, was dead when he was rushed semi-conscious into an operating theatre following last month's horror at the family home in Stourbridge.
"I was so drugged up, it just didn’t hit home for a long time. Even now we’re still in shock – we still expect to see them."
Peter, whose daughter Lydia was away at university in Bristol, fought back tears as he added: "We were such a tight unit as a family.
"Our lives revolved around each other – that’s gone now, and it’s devastating. Our lives have just been shattered, we’re a family that’s been wrecked."
Peter spent six days in intensive care as Lydia, 18, waited to see if she would also lose her father as well as her mum and brother.
She said last night: "Initially I found out what had happened on social media and online – at first I just saw that there had been three stabbings and I didn’t know much more.
"Soon after, I heard from the police. It was horrendous, just awful – I was on my own, but my friends rallied round me and my boyfriend’s parents came to pick me up from Bristol."
On Sunday, Peter and Lydia attended West Bromwich Albion's Premier League match against Liverpool where players and fans held a minute's silence to Tracey and Pierce.
Speaking for the first time since the tragedy, Peter confirmed the suspect was known to them, saying Tracey met him while he was homeless.
He said: "We were in a happy family bubble, the four of us. Lydia was at Bristol University doing great. Pierce was at school which he loved.
"And my wife was an absolute angel. We had such a happy family life. We are good people.
"We always helped others. We are a charitable family. My wife did a lot of work to help other people.
"She wouldn't walk past a homeless person on the street without stopping to give them a sandwich, she was that type of person.
"We just miss them so much. We sit talking about it everyday. We were really happy. Now our lives have got a huge hole in them.
"I nearly lost my life. I got six deep stab wounds. I had a lot of internal injuries and was in intensive care for six days. It was touch and go.
"I had to have a vast amount of stitches, which are all out now.
"I was supposed to be in for a few weeks but I came out after 12 days. I am well enough to come out, I am just on painkillers trying to rest and recuperate.
"I have become physically very weak now. Going out and doing more than just a little bit is very hard. It is going to take months to recover.
"We are just taking things one day at a time, one hour at a time. The support we have had has been phenomenal. We have had cards from people we have never heard of.
"We don't know how we will move on but with the steely support of our friends and family me and Lydia will move on.
"We will find happiness again. It is just going to be a long, long road that we should never have had to take.
"We had renovated the home and it was our labour of love for seven or eight years. Our roots are in Stourbridge and we intend to continue to live in that area."
Days after the killings, Lydia visited the home where she laid flowers to her mum and brother.
She said: "They were loved by everyone. They are irreplaceable. Just extraordinary people."
Aaron Barley, 23, of no fixed address has been charged with two counts of murder.
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