Kiwi-born England cricketer Ben Stokes' half-brother and sister murdered by father
England's Ben Stokes "over the moon" after helping England to victory in the third Ashes test at Hea
Created - 5 years ago
England's Ben Stokes "over the moon" after helping England to victory in the third Ashes test at Headingley.
Two siblings of World Cup winning cricketer Ben Stokes were shot dead by his mother's ex-partner before he was born.
English newspaper The Sun reported Stoke's half-sister Tracey, 8, and half-brother Andrew, 4, were killed by their father Richard Dunn in Christchurch in 1988, three years before Stokes was born.
It is understood Dunn, who had weekend custody of the children, shot them both dead before turning the gun on himself.
Dunn's daughter from a previous marriage, Jacqui Dunn, 49, told The Sun she remembers the "terrible shock" of hearing the news.
"I couldn't believe Dad would do such a thing. It was just horrible.
"Deb (Stokes' mother) was so angry and traumatised she kicked the coffin at his funeral and I've never seen or heard from her since."
According to The Sun, Dunn, who was 39 at the time, killed the children at his Christchurch flat. He then drove to Deb Stokes' home armed with a rifle, but she had left for work so he set the building on fire.
Armed cops raced to his apartment and Dunn retreated inside. Ten minutes later, two shots were heard and officers found Dunn and his two children dead.
The violent attack came after Deb and Dunn split and he discovered she had started a relationship with rugby coach Gerard Stokes, Ben Stokes' father.
An unnamed family source told the The Sun they thought Deb Stokes would never get over the tragedy but the birth of Ben had become her "light in the darkness".
Ben Stokes has never spoken publicly about the murder. The family declined to comment when approached by The Sun.
Deb Stokes remarried and moved with Gerard Stokes to the UK when he was 12. Stokes moved from amateur cricket side Cockermouth to Durham and then to England, where he lead them to a famous Cricket World Cup 2019 victory.
Two siblings of World Cup winning cricketer Ben Stokes were shot dead by his mother's ex-partner before he was born.
English newspaper The Sun reported Stoke's half-sister Tracey, 8, and half-brother Andrew, 4, were killed by their father Richard Dunn in Christchurch in 1988, three years before Stokes was born.
It is understood Dunn, who had weekend custody of the children, shot them both dead before turning the gun on himself.
Dunn's daughter from a previous marriage, Jacqui Dunn, 49, told The Sun she remembers the "terrible shock" of hearing the news.
"I couldn't believe Dad would do such a thing. It was just horrible.
"Deb (Stokes' mother) was so angry and traumatised she kicked the coffin at his funeral and I've never seen or heard from her since."
According to The Sun, Dunn, who was 39 at the time, killed the children at his Christchurch flat. He then drove to Deb Stokes' home armed with a rifle, but she had left for work so he set the building on fire.
Armed cops raced to his apartment and Dunn retreated inside. Ten minutes later, two shots were heard and officers found Dunn and his two children dead.
The violent attack came after Deb and Dunn split and he discovered she had started a relationship with rugby coach Gerard Stokes, Ben Stokes' father.
An unnamed family source told the The Sun they thought Deb Stokes would never get over the tragedy but the birth of Ben had become her "light in the darkness".
Ben Stokes has never spoken publicly about the murder. The family declined to comment when approached by The Sun.
Deb Stokes remarried and moved with Gerard Stokes to the UK when he was 12. Stokes moved from amateur cricket side Cockermouth to Durham and then to England, where he lead them to a famous Cricket World Cup 2019 victory.
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