26/09/2008

German Man Arrested Over Gamer Murder

A 21-year-old German man arrested by police in relation to the murder of a British internet gaming enthusiast in Nottingham is to face extradition proceedings.

Twenty-year-old Matthew Pyke was found dead in his flat above the Orange Tree pub on North Sherwood Street last Friday.

Mr Pyke, who ran his own online chat forum dedicated to the Nintendo computer strategy game 'Advanced Wars', had been stabbed.

A 21-year-old man from Limburg was arrested in Hunfelden on Wednesday by West-Hessen Police.

It is understood Joanna Witton, 20, the man's girlfriend, found his body in the flat they shared. There were no signs of a break-in, so police believe he may have known his killer.

Nottingham Police yesterday confirmed they had arrested a man in Germany over the killing and a link with the internet was one of several lines of inquiry being pursued.

A spokeswoman for Nottingham Police said: "The suspect is going to Frankfurt for the start of extradition proceedings.

"We are questioning him with German police."

In a statement released through Nottinghamshire Police on Thursday, a spokesman for the German force said: "Limburg-Weilburg police have arrested a 21-year-old man from the rural district of Limburg on suspicion of murder.

"He was arrested by officers from the West-Hessen police headquarters in Hunfelden on suspicion that on 19 September he killed a man in Nottingham with a knife.

"They got to know each other through the internet.

"The man has been extensively interviewed by Limburg CID at the petition of the public prosecutor."

Mr Pyke, originally from Stowmarket in Suffolk, was about to start a degree in Nottingham Trent University. He had been living in the city for two years.

(JM)

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