An Anglican vicar has told a court she only found out her Muslim son died fighting for Islamic State in Syria when police showed her a video of his body.
Revd Susan Boyce was giving evidence at the Old Bailey, in the trial of four others accused of terrorism charges.
The four deny the charges against them.
Mrs Boyce told the Old Bailey her son Jacob Petty converted to Islam aged 15, and told his parents he was joining Islamic State in August 2015.
The minister said: "He rang at the end of August to say he was going to Syria.
"I was horrified.
"I just expressed 'do not be so stupid, don't do it, don't go there'.
"I had no idea Jake had thoughts of going to Syria. There were Sunni Muslims involved in Islamic State but he was quite horrified by what he saw watching it on TV."
After regularly contacting each other while Jacob was in Syria, the two lost contact in December 2014.
It was at this point that he is thought to have been killed, aged 25.
Police confirmed this in October 2015 by showing Revd Boyce footage of son's dead body.
The trial of the four defendants continues.
A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference
In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.
Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.
For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.
Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.
Support Us
Article by Aaron James
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
