Lottery Winner Killed Sons, Then Himself After Stabbing Wife When She Learned He Spent Money On Prostitutes

New information was disclosed in an inquest this week about an English lottery winner who in 2016 killed his two sons and stabbed his wife, before killing himself, after his wife learned he had paid for prostitutes.

David Stokes,43, of Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, had a standoff with police at his home on Nov. 2, 2016, after he had killed his sons — 11-year-old Adam Stokes and 5-year-old Matthew Stokes — and stabbed his wife, Sally Stokes. He then killed himself with a single stab wound.

Sally Stokes, 47, revealed that the standoff took place after she had confronted her husband about a secret phone she found hidden in their kitchen. On the phone was a confirmation for an escort booking service, as well as online searches for date rape drugs. She told police the situation was “calm” at the time of the discovery.

Several hours later, she was assaulted by Stokes with a rolling pin. She claims he attempted to smother her with a bed pillow as she broke free and tried to escape out through their garden, screaming for help. He caught up to her, hit her head against a wall, and brought her back inside.

One neighbor reportedly heard the screams and called the police.

David Stokes spoke with police negotiators several times before cutting off contact. He then stabbed his wife before taking his own life.

“I felt a bump in my back, felt the warmth of blood, then I realised he'd stabbed me,” Sally Stokes told the inquest on Monday. “The look on his face was like satisfaction. I'll never forget it - as though he'd won.”

Officers raided the house a few minutes after and found her wounded while her husband was found dead with a knife in his chest. Their sons were also found together holding hands in the same bed, hidden under a quilt. According to BBC News, a pathologist said the boys' cause of death "could have been a result of drowning or pressure to the neck."

In the inquest, authorities said a video recording hours before the boys' death had David Stokes asking "for a cuddle." Officers also found a suspected suicide note in the home.

Sally Stokes thanked police for their actions in managing to at least save her life.

“If police had forced the situation, I wouldn't be here,” she said.

The inquest continues into the incident while Sally Stokes was ruled out as a suspect in the deaths.

David Stokes had reportedly won £40,000 ($51,650) on the lottery and spent it on a new car and prostitutes.