THE family of a father-of-two found with a fatal stab wound outside his home spoke yesterday of their "devastation".
Three men were being questioned yesterday in connection with the murder of 36-year-old Christopher Deakin, as police combed an area of land nearby for clues.
Deakin, father of sons aged nine and 10, was discovered injured in Longley Road, Longton
, Stoke-on-Trent, on Friday morning. He died later in hospital. A postmortem revealed he had died of blood loss following a stab wound to the leg.
Four suspects aged 18, 29, 42 and 44 were detained a short time later. Detectives have been granted an extension until this evening to interview three of the men - the 44-year-old was released yesterday "without any further action", police said.
In a statement released via Staffordshire Police, Deakin's family said: "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the terrible news of our treasured son and brother's tragic and unexpected death. He leaves behind a devastated family, including two young sons to whom he was a caring and devoted father."
House-to-house inquiries and a forensic examination of the scene continued yesterday. Specialist search officers were deployed to look at an area of overgrown land off Longley Road.
It is understood Deakin lived alone in a council-owned flat.
People living in Longley Road spoke of their shock yesterday, but talked of a growing drug problem in the area.
Resident Margaret Crompton, 68, told the Stoke Sentinel: "There is apparently a lot of problems with drugs around here, but we've never had anything like this before. It's really frightened me."
The full article contains 278 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
