England cricket starBen Stokes’brother and sister were both murdered by their father as children before he was born.
The family heartbreak revealed bythe Suntell of how Stokes’ mum Deb had been living in Christchurch, New Zealand, when the father of Tracey, 8, and Andrew, 4, shot them both at his flat before ending his own life.
Deb had separated from Richard Dunn, father to both children, and had began a new relationship with Stokes’ father, Gerard – which caused furious rows with her former partner .
Dunn was then caring for the children over a weekend in April 1988 when he killed them before driving to Deb’s home, only to find it empty as she had gone to work.
He then set the building alight before going back inside when armed police arrived at the scene, and shooting himself ten minutes
Deb was said by friends to have been “destroyed by grief” but leant on Gerard for support, and eventually gave birth to Ben three years later.
“Gerard was a rock for her and when Ben came along he became the light in her darkness,” a source told the Sun.
“Ben was born at a time of terrible tragedy. Deb was enduring every parents’ worst possible nightmare and his arrival gave her something to live for.
“It’s incredible that he’s achieved so much as a cricketer and made her so proud. ”
Dunn’s daughter from a previous marriage, Jacqui, was 18 – years-old at the time of the tragic events, which she vividly recalled.
“I couldn’t believe Dad would do such a thing. It was just horrible.
“Deb was so angry and traumatised she kicked the coffin at his funeral and I’ve never seen or heard from her since.
“And I had absolutely no idea she’s had another son who became an England cricket star.
“Dad worshipped his kids and became obsessed with the idea he wouldn’t be allowed to see them – he just lost his mind.
“I was working in a shoe shop at the time and my dad came looking for me the day before the shootings, but I was on my lunch break.
“I never saw him again and he took those lovely kids with him.”
A family source said: “Dick took it badly when he and Deb split up but he was such a popular, easy-going guy – really laid back.
“No one would ever have thought him capable of such evil. People who knew him well realized he could only have done such an appalling thing when the balance of his mind was disturbed. But there can never be any excuse for taking two young lives.
“Andrew and Tracey were absolutely lovely kids – both beautiful and so full of life.”
Deb and Gerard later moved to the UK along with Ben when he was 12.
His father was a rugby coach with Workington Town, while Deb worked as a grief councillor.
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Both were fully supportive of their son when he was taken to court over charges of affray following an incident on a night out in Bristol two years ago.
Ben has become a nationwide hero this summer for his exploits at the Cricket World Cup and in the third test of the Ashes series.
Gerard said: ““ Even when Ben was in nappies he had a natural talent. ”
The Sokes family declined to comment when asked by the Sun.
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