JUST after 6pm last Friday, Joanna Witton returned to the flat she shared with her boyfriend, Matthew Pyke.

The scene that met her will undoubtedly stay with the 20-year-old for the rest of her life.

Mr Pyke lay dead, covered in what appeared to be stab wounds.

The ambulance service, which was the first emergency service called to the scene, immediately notified police.

Detectives began a murder inquiry that night after post-mortem examination results confirmed the cause of the 20-year-old's death.

His family have remained too grief-stricken to talk about their loss.

Police have already confirmed there were no signs of forced entry to his flat above The Orange Tree pub in Shakespeare Street.

They have also confirmed they have investigated his links with the gaming world. Mr Pyke and Ms Witton were co-administrators of a website dedicated to fans of the computer fantasy game Advance Wars, where he was known as Shade.

A cordon at the side of The Orange Tree pub remained in place last night. Teams of forensic officers have been painstakingly gathering evidence from inside the flat and the surrounding area, while other officers have been searching hedges and nearby gardens.

Police believe the individual or individuals responsible for Mr Pyke's death would have been heavily blood-stained on leaving his flat and may have been seen by members of the public.

They also believe they may have changed clothes and discarded items worn while committing the murder. CCTV footage taken from cameras in and around Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street has been scrutinised.

But what was Mr Pyk'e's background and why would anyone want to kill him?

He moved to Nottingham two years ago from his home in Stowmarket, Suffolk. He had enrolled on a degree course at Nottingham Trent University, having started but not completed a physics degree at the same institution.

One poster to the fan site run by Mr Pyke and Ms Witton, calling himself The Evil One, describes the former as "witty" and "intelligent".

"We all loved him for his hilarious comics, his fantastic writing, and most of all his absolutely amazing company.

"I wish I'd talked to him more in recent times. Now I never can."

Chiraag Suchak, who contacted the Evening Post through Facebook, said he had been best friends with Mr Pyke for ten years at Stowmaket Middle School.

He said: "He was quite shy at school and was really into web design, journalism and used to do a lot of creative writing."

On his MySpace page, Mr Pyke listed his general interests as Guitar Hero, the Ace Attorney series, Gran Turismo 4, Metal Gear, Evil Genius, Unreal Tournament, Super Smash Bros, the Metroid series, adding 'and that's just the video games'.

He also listed as his interests creative writing, reading, and TV programmes Top Gear and QI.

On his 'wall', one poster wrote on Sunday : "R.I.P Matt.

"I don't know what school would've been like without you, you were one of the most individual, genuine, good people I have ever met, and a great friend."

guy.woodford@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk