The widow of The Wanted’s Tom Parker has described how she was made to feel like a criminal after her baby with her new partner was stillborn.
Parker died in 2022 at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
His widow, Kelsey Parker, appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) on Wednesday, where she told the programme how her son, Phoenix, with new partner Will, was born at home at 39 weeks into her pregnancy.
Parker, who has two children with her late husband, said the labour lasted only minutes and so her midwife did not have time to arrive.
“You could just see that he was no longer with us,” she told GMB.
“Obviously, straight away we called the ambulance. They took nine minutes to come, and just when they arrived… the only way I can describe it, it was like I was in a film, and this wasn’t real, and it wasn’t happening to me.”
She said they took Phoenix and called the police, who told her that her home was a “crime scene”.
Parker, who is campaigning for better care for those who have lost a baby, said the situation got worse as they took Phoenix away and she was told to attend the hospital maternity unit where she had to wait to be seen surrounded by mothers and their newborn babies.
Police have since apologised to Parker, and she was told the paramedics who attended her house had never seen a stillborn baby before.
She told GMB: “It’s taken me a year to actually process what happened to us. I’m just so upset and angry with how they treated me.
“I just wanted love and kindness, and I don’t think that’s a lot to actually ask,” she added.
Parker said her “saving grace” was her late husband as it gave her the confidence to advocate for herself in a medical setting.
She explained: “I’d been through this experience with Tom, and I’ve spoken to brain surgeons all over the world.
“So, actually, where Tom had put me in such a medical experience for 18 months, I wasn’t afraid.
“I wasn’t afraid to use my voice, whereas if I didn’t have time and I hadn’t gone through that, then I probably wouldn’t have.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We understand this was a deeply traumatic experience for Kelsey and Will and our thoughts remain with them as they continue to grieve the loss of their son.
“We acknowledge that referring to the address as a crime scene was inappropriate, and that the family could and should have been treated in a more sensitive way.
“Learning has been implemented to prevent this happening again. A detective inspector has offered to meet with the family alongside a child bereavement nurse and arrangements are ongoing for this to take place.”
London Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.
