Grieving widow of murdered Sunderland grandad loses precious pictures in house fire

Chip pan house fire of Trish Walsh, wife of murdered David Walsh. Son Kyle Walsh.

Trisha Walsh’s husband David died almost exactly two years ago when he was savagely attacked.

Mr Walsh had gone to the lane between Canon Cockin Street and Fuller Road in Hendon, Sunderland, on November 20, 2015, when he found out his son David Richardson, aka Walsh, was being assaulted.

The popular 45-year-old dad-of-four and grandad-of-four, who had the nickname Boff, suffered 34 stabs wounds and cuts and died as a result of massive blood loss as a result of damage to blood vessels linked to the heart, lungs and kidneys.

Now, almost exactly two years on from the murder, Trisha has been handed another huge blow after a chip pan fire at her Hendon home destroyed much of the property. Precious items including photographs of her and her late husband, who was a railway worker, have also been lost as well as furniture.

Thankfully, Mr Walsh’s ashes were saved.

Although Trisha was too upset to speak about the fire, son Kyle, 29, told the Echo: “She has lost almost all of her possessions.

“The place is still there but it’s been really badly damaged so she’s having to live in a bed and breakfast over in Roker for now. What’s most upsetting is she has lost pictures of my dad.

“Nothing is really salvageable.

“You couldn’t write it that this would happen about a week and a half before the two-year anniversary that my dad was killed.

“It’s just one of those things but we can’t believe it.”

At the time of his death Mr Walsh was planning to renew his wedding vows with childhood sweetheart Trisha, with the pair also looking forward to a dream holiday in the Carribean.

Friends and family are now trying to rally around Trisha and a fund-raising page has been set up to generate £10,000 and help her rebuild her home.

Dave Potter, 40, who has created the page, said: “We just want to try and get Trisha back into the house for Christmas. “She’s had such a tough time over the past couple of years after what happened and people want to help her.

“The damage is really bad and she’s lost practically everything. Trisha is a great woman and Boff was a great man, a great father, and an inspiration to so many people.”

To donate to the fund-raising appeal go to https://www.gofundme.com/wv6c6w-rebuild-a-home.