Category: TV Factual
Date: 18.05.2005
Printable version
Abigail Witchalls' husband, Benoit
Witchalls, will be speaking publicly for the first time on
91Èȱ¬ ONE's Crimewatch programme tonight, 18 May 2005,
appealing for help in identifying the person responsible for the attack
on his wife and son.
Ìý
Crimewatch features a reconstruction of the events on
the afternoon of Wednesday 20 April in which 26-year-old Abigail was
chased, stabbed in the neck with a knife and left for dead on the footpath.
Ìý
Actors play the parts of Abigail and her 21-month-old
son Joseph who was threatened with a knife during the same incident.
Ìý
Speaking about Abigail, Benoit says: "She's a remarkable
character. I think I've had a crash course in spinal injury, and you
just can't tell anything for the first month so it's a case of wait
and see really, but she's still got her smile which is very comforting
to see."
Ìý
On how he and the family are coping, he says he and
Abigail refuse to let the attack destroy their lives.
Ìý
"We feel very lucky and very blessed because she is
fully present as herself, it's just great to see and it's a great joy.
You can see in her face when she sees Joseph. The reason that the first
word that she mouthed was 'happy' was because she was so relieved that
he came out of it unscathed, physically.
Ìý
"Between trying to understand our son - who has
quite a basic vocabulary - and Abigail, who is trying to lipread things,
I'm getting much better."
Ìý
Notes to Editors:
Ìý
Stills relating to the Crimewatch appeal are available
from the 17 May 2005 from 91Èȱ¬ Picture Publicity.
Ìý
The full transcript of the interview with Benoit Witchalls
will be available on the Press Office website from 11.00pm on 18 May
2005.
Ìý
For strict legal reasons, any media outlet wanting to
use footage or grabs of the reconstruction other than those released
under embargo prior to transmission must contact the Publicity Front
Desk for clearance. It is copyright of the 91Èȱ¬.
