‘No family should have to go through this’: Daughter’s tears for parents who fought off alleged home invader

The daughter of an elderly couple who fought off an alleged home invader who attacked them in their rural NSW home says she is proud of her parents and their bravery, adding, “no family should ever have to go through this”.

Kathy Blessing spoke briefly to reporters outside Gold Coast University Hospital on Friday afternoon, saying the incident has been deeply traumatising, as the pair continue recovering in hospital.

“We have a long road ahead,” Blessing said, fighting back tears.

Her father Keith, 75, confronted Joshua Dylan Trethewey after the 34-year-old allegedly broke into the isolated rural home on the NSW Northern Tablelands early on Thursday morning.

Keith was slashed across the abdomen, his wife Di, 72, stabbed in the chest.

The younger man retreated to the verandah after Keith armed himself with a knife, but when he allegedly tried to come back in the home, Keith, a licensed gun owner, shot him in the stomach.

The Blessings were flown to Gold Coast University Hospital, where they remain.

Keith is not expected to be charged, and locals do not believe he should be.

“It has been comforting to know we have the support of the wider community,” Kathy Blessing said.

“This has been deeply traumatising to our family, and no family should ever have to go through this.”

Trethewey was taken to Armidale Hospital. He has been charged with two counts of wounding with intent to murder but has not yet faced court due to his hospitalisation.

Locals gathered in the rural village’s community hall on Friday morning to discuss security concerns.

Torrington was home to 77 people in the 2021 census, with a median age of 64.

Tenterfield mayor Bronwyn Petrie earlier told this masthead community members were shocked and rattled by the incident and had been “fearful about safety” for some time.