Young brothers stabbed to death in back of car

Police were preparing last night to question the father of two young boys who were found stabbed to death in the back seat of a car at a golf course.

The bodies of Bradley and Brett Wilson, aged seven and eight, were discovered in a suburb of Birmingham on Wednesday night just hours after they were seen having a meal with their parents at a fast food restaurant.

Steven Wilson, 43, was found in the driver's seat of the car with stab wounds to his chest. Police said yesterday that they were not looking for any other suspects. A sharp instrument, believed to be the murder weapon, was later recovered close to the car. The boys suffered serious neck injuries.

Murder squad detectives were last night waiting to question the injured man who was being treated in hospital. His condition was described as "serious but stable".

The family had been for a meal at McDonald's in West Bromwich at 7.40pm. At 10.15pm, a Daihatsu estate car was discovered behind outbuildings at the council-run Hill Top golf course, in nearby Handsworth.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker, of West Midlands Police, told a news conference yesterday that the police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the killings and Steven Wilson was believed to have inflicted the wounds on himself. Officers were still trying to establish a motive for the incident, which is believed to be "domestically related", she added.

The boy's 25-year-old mother was being comforted last night by family and friends. "She is very traumatised, as you can imagine. She is numb and lost for words, but she has family around her and friends," Det Chief Supt Baker said.

The boys attended the 370-pupil Grove Vale Primary School near their home in Great Barr, north Birmingham. Andy Leivers, the school's head teacher, said: "They were two lovely boys. They loved being here at Grove Vale and they will be sorely, sorely missed.

"The boys' family have been in touch with me this morning to say that the children absolutely adored coming to the school. The whole of the school community at Grove Vale has been left numbed by this tragedy.

"Our first thoughts have to be with the boys' family at what must be an unimaginably distressing time for them. My other concerns are for fellow pupils and staff and helping them to cope with the shock we all feel.

"I have broken the news to the pupils at an assembly and have made it clear that we are here for them at this terrible time." Neighbours of the family described the two boys as well behaved and polite.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is gathering a dossier of child killings as part of its attempt to put infanticide on the political agenda. The charity wants to set up child death review teams to investigate all suspicious deaths and an independent children's commissioner to oversee public inquiries into children's deaths. They also want the government to reduce child deaths by a half in the next 10 years.