PRESS ASSOCIATION -- A householder arrested on suspicion of murder after an intruder was stabbed to death at his home has been bailed by police.
Two men reportedly forced their way into the house of Vincent Cooke, 39, and threatened him before one of them, understood to be Raymond Jacob, suffered fatal knife injuries.
Mr Cooke was initially home alone at the time in Bramhall, Stockport, but his wife, Karen, and their 12-year-old son returned during the incident. They managed to escape unharmed.
Mr Cooke was initially arrested on suspicion of murder. Police said he has now been bailed until October 17, pending further inquiries.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary. Police have also recovered a white Citroen van being sought as part of the investigation.
Officers were called to the scene in Midland Road, Bramhall, at about 7.50pm on Saturday and, along with paramedics, gave first aid to the injured intruder, thought to be in his late 30s, but he died shortly afterwards.
Floral tributes to the dead man - referred to as "Ray" and "Raymondo" - were left by family members outside the large detached house. One tribute read: "Love you son. Going to miss you more than anything."
A police cordon was placed around the property as forensic teams went in and out of the address in an affluent area of Stockport.
It is the third incident of its kind in Greater Manchester in the last few months. In June, Peter Flanagan, 59, fatally stabbed an intruder at his home in Salford after he was confronted by a gang of masked men wielding machetes. A month later, florist Cecil Coley, 72, stabbed a burglar at his shop in Old Trafford, Manchester.
Both men were arrested on suspicion of murder at the time but were later released without charge as the Crown Prosecution Service ruled they acted in reasonable self-defence.