A YEAR since her son brutally murdered his former partner and her son with an axe, Margaret Kelly has broken her silence.

The mum-of-four, 71, has recalled the day she found out her 46-year-old son, Michael Kelly, had killed Sally Cox, 43, and her 22-year-old son, Martin Faulkner, at their house in Mold Crescent, Banbury.

She said her son had been struggling to come to terms with the crumbling of his relationship with Ms Cox a few months previously, but was not showing any signs of erratic behaviour.

He had even agreed to meet her in Swindon town centre on the day of the killings.

Ms Kelly, who lives in Swindon town centre, said: “The day I found out is just like one big haze.

“He must have gone completely berserk to do that and what I can never understand is how on earth he was able to drive back to Swindon from Banbury, having killed two people. How could you drive after that?

“I have asked him that very question and he just looked at me blankly and said ‘I don’t know. Everything was just red, everything was red’.

“He couldn’t seem to accept that she just didn’t want him. Most people would just pick up the pieces and move on, but he couldn’t do that.

“I remember seeing the story in the papers the next day and looking at the picture of Michael and not being able to put the pieces together. The man looking up at me from the paper did not seem like my son.

“I would love to talk to the victims’ family, but I don’t think they would ever want to hear from me.

“They may, in years to come, but it is too raw right now, just coming up for a year.

“I wish I could bring Sally and Martin back, but it just isn’t going to happen. Michael wishes it had never happened, but it is just too late for that. It is so sad.”

Kelly, of Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, donned a horror mask and lay in wait for former lover Ms Cox to return from walking her dog before killing her in her kitchen.

The couple, who both worked for parcels firm DHL at its Banbury depot, had earlier met on a dating website.

Ms Kelly attended the sentencing of her son at Oxford Crown Court in April, when he was told he would serve a minimum of 30 years behind bars after admitting two counts of murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Detectives believe Ms Cox’s daughter, Amy, 19 at the time, and another girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would also have fallen victim to him had they not managed to escape during the attacks on December 13 last year.

Despite his actions, Ms Kelly still speaks to her son on a daily basis and visits when she can, but says she completely agrees with the sentence he was given.

“He did what he did and he should pay his debt to society,” she said. “But when you have kids, you realise that you can never disown them.

“He has done what he has done and he must face up to that, but, at the end of the day, I am still his mother.

“You always blame yourself in a way. You ask yourself, ‘Did I make a mistake bringing him up?’ But he was brought up just like his brothers and sister. People tell me I have been really strong, but you just can’t give up. It isn’t fair on my other children.

“It plays on my mind all the time. It has been a year of hell.”