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A woman who was stabbed in a horror alleged home invasion has thanked her ‘hero’ husband for saving her life.
Keith and Di Blessing were asleep at their home in Torrington, about 65km south-west of Tenterfield in northern New South Wales on Thursday, when police allege Joshua Dylan Trethewey, 34, broke into their home and stabbed the pair.
Ms Blessing, 72, suffered a chest wound and collapsed, while her 75-year-old husband was slashed across the abdomen before he fought back and shot Trethewey in self-defence.
Ms Blessing was discharged from Gold Coast University Hospital on Tuesday and her husband remains there in a stable condition, having been moved from the ICU.
In an emotional statement, Ms Blessing thanked her ‘hero’ husband for his brave choice to fight the attacker off.
‘I want to thank my husband, my hero,’ she said.
‘There can surely be no greater love than shielding and protecting a loved one.
‘Without him, I believe I would not be alive today.’
Di Blessing (left) thanked her husband, Keith (right), for saving their lives during an alleged home invasion
The couple were sleeping when an alleged intruder broke into their home and stabbed them (pictured are investigators at the scene)
Ms Blessing described the alleged attack as a ‘nightmare’ that ‘has left us shattered’.
She thanked emergency services who ‘responded quickly and professionally to a situation of unknown danger to themselves’ and Westpac Rescue Helicopter team who ‘landed in a paddock with unknown obstacles in the blackness of night’.
Ms Blessing also shared her gratitude to trauma doctors ‘for their caring surgical, medical, and professional support’.
The couple have been ‘blown away’ by the massive show of empathy following the alleged attack on their home.
More than $3,000 donated in a fundraiser for the couple will be given to Westpac Rescue Helicopters, Ms Blessing said.
Ms Blessing’s comments come just days after defiant Torrington residents challenged police over their refusal to publicly rule out formal action against Mr Blessing for shooting his alleged attacker.
Locals packed a town hall meeting on Friday as Inspector James Parsons said the law of self-defence was complex and he could not guarantee charges would not be laid.
His comments came despite a police source previously telling the Daily Mail that Mr Blessing was unlikely to face charges given the circumstances in which he used the firearm.
Police have not ruled out charging Mr Blessing (pictured with his wife) for shooting the alleged attacker
Police said Mr Blessing, who is a licensed gun owner, shot Trethewey in the abdomen after calling Triple Zero for urgent help just after 12.15am.
But before emergency services arrived, Trethewey allegedly attempted to re-enter the house and was shot.
It’s understood Trethewey is under police guard while in an induced coma at Armidale Hospital.
He has been charged with two counts of cause wounding/grievous bodily harm to person with intent to murder and is yet to face court.
The Daily Mail revealed last week Trethewey lost his mother to Motor Neurone Disease just hours before his alleged attack.
The disease is a rare, progressive and fatal disorder that destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Trethewey lived with his mum in Deepwater, 28km south-east of Torrington, after his father John died of cancer in 2024.
Multiple sources within Deepwater said Trethewey suffered from mental health issues.
Locals said Trethewey would frequently drive between Deepwater and Torrington
Police said he was not known to his victims, but Trethewey was a regular visitor to Torrington and was often seen driving in the area in a silver hatchback.
‘He drove from Deepwater to Torrington twice a day and touched the phone box, and then drove back,’ said one local.
The Blessings’ home is on the route between Deepwater and the Torrington payphone.
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