An inquest has heard the heartbreaking last moments of a 71-year-old Gravesend man who was stabbed to death by his son.

Tony Wotton, 49, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in June 2012, a year after he had stabbed his father, Terry, to death in a frenzied attack at their Mackenzie Way home.

The inquest into Terry's death resumed yesterday at Gravesend Old Town Hall and continued today (September 23).

The former company director worked for a landscape company up until his death on September 12, 2011 when he was killed by his son - despite the fact medical professionals had visited the family earlier that day and refused to take Tony to hospital.

In a statement read out on behalf of Terry's wife, Joan Wotton, she said how their son, a schizophrenic, would hear voices and regularly threaten his father with a knife.

"Tony definitely had one he preferred with a black handle, which he called the 'vampire knife'.

"When he was well, he would feel awful about it and I would say, 'why don't you take your medication.'

"He would say 'they tell me to do it,' and he meant the voices in his head.

"Tony called his father a 'vampire' because Terry liked his steaks bloody. Tony didn't like them like that."

The inquest also heard a mental health crisis team had visited on the day Terry was killed but had told the family they could not admit Tony to hospital.

Joan's statement reveals her husband's chilling prophecy of what would happen: "When I told him the health team would not admit Tony to hospital, Terry said, 'they will care when he kills me'."

On the evening of September 12, Joan heard Tony threaten her husband in Terry's bedroom. Tony had refused to take his medication for five weeks beforehand.

She said: "I heard Tony shout, 'get up, you devil thing you'.

"He was holding a knife pointing at Terry's body."

She tried to help Terry and bundled him into her bedroom but Tony followed, and "barged" his way in.

"Tony raised his hand with the knife in and stabbed Terry who fell into the floor in a foetal position. He stabbed him a couple more times, it was fast and frenzied.

"The blood came quickly and left a pool on the cream carpet."

The inquest also heard how Tony, who had formerly worked at Woolworth's in Gravesend, had struggled to come to terms with his sexuality.

Tony's sister, Diane Ludlow, said: "I don't think he liked being gay but he couldn't help it, it's not something he chose.

"When he was on his medication, he was lovely, funny, cuddly with me.

"He taught my kids how to swim. He taught them lots of things.

"Off medication he could be abusive and aggressive especially with my father, who was a gentle, placid man. My dad loved life."

She later told News Shopper: “We are taking part in this inquest on behalf of both my dad Terry and my brother Tony both of which were severely let down by the mental health services.”

A spokesman for the Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust said: “Like everyone, we are so sad by the events that occurred in September 2011 and want to express our sincere condolences to the family.

“Although we cannot comment in detail ahead of the coroner’s inquest, we wish to reiterate that we have been and will continue to work as closely as possible with all parties and cooperate fully with all necessary inquiries in order to do everything possible to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.”

The inquest continues.