NOTTINGHAM student Matthew Pyke was stabbed “in excess of 80 times” before being found dead by his girlfriend in their city centre flat, it has emerged.

NOTTINGHAM student Matthew Pyke was stabbed “in excess of 80 times” before being found dead by his girlfriend in their city centre flat, it has emerged.

The figure is contained in a copy of the European arrest warrant sent by Nottingham detectives to colleagues in Germany to secure the arrest of David Heiss, 21, on suspicion of Mr Pyke's murder.

Heiss was arrested in Germany five days after Mr Pyke's body was found by Joanna Witton at their North Sherwood Street flat, Nottingham city centre on Friday, September 19.

A post mortem confirmed Mr Pyke died of stab wounds, but the number of wounds had not been disclosed until today.

Heiss is currently in Limburg Prison awaiting a decision on an extradition court hearing being sought by Notts police.

A spokeswoman for the General Public Prosecutor's Office for the region of Hessen (GPPH) said: “The General Public Prosecutor for Limburg has first refusal on whether Heiss will be extradited since he is a German citizen being held in Limburg.

“It is likely that the extradition will be granted. It will be more practical for him to face prosecution in the UK.

“It could take up to another four weeks to decide upon the extradition application as Heiss and his legal representatives will also need time to prepare for the hearing.”

German police have confirmed that Heiss, from the village of Dauborn, near Limburg, shared a passion for on-line games with Mr Pyke and Ms Witton, who ran a website dedicated to the game Advance Wars. Heiss had visited the couple at their flat above The Orange Tree pub.

Mr Pyke moved to Nottingham two years ago from Stowmarket in Suffolk and was due to start a degree at Nottingham Trent University this month.