THE family of a man stabbed to death five years ago have escaped injury after a burning car was pushed against their home in Co Armagh.
Barbara and Cecil Williamson, both aged 65, and their son Robert David (30) were at home in Richhill yesterday when arsonists set fire to the car outside.
The house was badly damaged when flames spread to a nearby oil tank and caused it to explode.
Several nearby homes in Elm Park were evacuated by police as a precaution while fire crews tackled the blaze during the early hours.
Robert David was awake early for work and raised the alarm. The fire was reported to police at about 5.40am.
Father-of-one Marc Williamson (21) died after being stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife in Portadown in 2011.
His mother Barbara said she feared she could have lost another son in the blaze.
"Mark's dead five years in August coming up and if Robert David hadn't been up I'd have lost another son," she said.
"Maybe we'd have all been away, but I'd definitely have lost another son."
Mrs Williamson told the BBC she believes she knows who started the fire.
"It's a long story," she said, "but they got the wrong car, I'm sure they meant to burn out my car."
She said the family are now homeless, adding: "We've lost everything."
Police are working to establish a motive and appealed for anyone with information to contact them.
Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy, who visited the family yesterday, condemned the "disgraceful incident".
"They are quite understandably shocked and distressed and realise just how close they came to a tragedy," he said.
"This is a quiet residential village which is in complete shock. Having seen the damage for myself, it is clear that we could easily have been dealing with fatalities."
