This is the first picture of soldier Ian Lowe posing with smiling girlfriend Leanne McNuff - the woman he is suspected of stabbing to death in front of their four-year-old son.
The 24-year-old, from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster Regiment, is being quizzed on suspicion of murder after Leanne, also 24, was found knifed to death at her semi-detached family home in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.
The couple's young son Jayden was in the house in Mellor Street at the time of the killing at 7.45pm on Sunday night.
Leanne’s mother Margaret and brother Ryan live next door and rushed to Leanne’s home after they heard ‘banging noises’. They discovered Leanne with multiple stab wounds.
Police are treating the death as a domestic dispute.
Last night Leanne’s mother paid tribute to her daughter. She said: 'Leanne was loved by everyone and was an honest and upfront young woman. We are all just devastated. We feel numb and empty.'
Leanne and Pte Lowe, 24, spoke to local media in February 2008 when the soldier returned from a tour of Iraq to see his son Jaden for the first time.
24-year-old Leanne McNuff was taken to hospital on Sunday night with stab wounds where she was pronounced dead a short time later
He told how he had been worrying about Leanne, who gave birth just 10 days after he was sent to Basra.
He said at the time: 'Although I had been sent photos, I was just amazed when I saw him for the first time.
'It was wonderful to see him. I was worrying about Jaden and Leanne but my mates knew what I was going through and were very supportive.'
But it is understood the relationship had been strained in recent years and the couple had broken up on at least one occasion.
A family friend said: 'They broke up but then Ian managed to talk her round again.' Leanne was found just after 7.45pm on Sunday. Paramedics tried to save her at the house and she was rushed to hospital.
Last night, police said that a post mortem examination had revealed that she died from multiple stab wounds.
Yesterday, friends and family left floral tributes outside the family home.
Leanne’s aunt Teresa McCarthy told how Leanne had been a successful dancer as a teenager and had even won awards.
She said: 'She was such a lovely girl. She looked after her son very well and she had a good job before she became pregnant.
'She was full of life, intelligent, bubbly and very pretty. As a mother she doted on her little boy - it was the making of her. She comes from a good family who supported her.
'We feel robbed and angry. As a family we are just devastated - what a waste of life. Nobody deserves to die at 24. My sister is going through hell.'
Sam Wild, 25, mother-of-one, who went to school with Leanne said: 'She was devoted to her boy. She would do anything for anyone. She was the nicest girl in the world.
'The last time we had a deep conversation, she was so happy and saying how she wanted to get married to Ian and move to the army houses.
'We were quite good friends and would come for a drink together. Ian had recently returned from a trip to Afgahnistan but had seen a couple of his friends shot and killed.'
A former pupil of Fairfield high school in Droylsden and Tameside College, Leanne had worked at ATA security before becoming a mother.
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