Manchester murder: man arrested on suspicion of killing of 'gentle giant' student

29 October 2022, 16:50

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a Manchester student described by his family as "a gentle giant".

Luke O'Connor, 19, was stabbed to death on Wilmslow Road in the Fallowfields area of south Manchester in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as he came home from a house party. He was rushed to hospital, where he died.

Another 19-year-old from the same area was arrested in connection the Manchester Metropolitan university student's murder on Saturday.

Officers believe the attack was "random" and that Mr O'Connor did not know his killer before he died.

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His family described the business management student and Liverpool fan as a "gentle giant".

"Our hearts yearn for the loss of Luke; we are truly devastated by this tragedy," they said. "Luke was loved by so many people, and he knew how much he was loved in return...

"Luke was the youngest of three boys in our family and was a gentle giant with big hopes and dreams for the future."His biggest dream was to travel the world, but now Luke will never be able to fulfil that dream.

"Luke loved music, football and was a big supporter of Liverpool Football Club, who he followed religiously from a young age.

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"He had a profound impact on so many people throughout his life. He was truly one of a kind, who’s presence would light up any room.

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"Luke’s friends also adored him, as he adored them. They often called Luke a ‘Legend’ and ‘the life and soul’ of everything he did. Everyone who met him, truly loved him.

"Our lively, bubbly, beautiful boy has been taken from us and our family are now left with a hole in our hearts that will never be filled.

"Justice needs to be served as we have lost our beautiful young Luke, who was robbed of life.

"We will continue to honour his name for as long as we are all here, and his legacy with go on forever.”

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Superintendent Helen Critchley, of our City of Manchester South district, said: “The arrest of a 19-year-old suspect on Friday night is an important step in our investigation which is moving at pace.

“Since the tragic killing of Luke our investigation team has made significant progress as we do all we can to get justice for Luke’s family who we are continuing to support at this devastating time.

“There are still a number of enquiries being conducted to establish what happened in the early hours of Wednesday, but what is clear is that this was a senseless and needless loss of a promising young life that has shocked our student community and we are doing all we can to support them, too.”

Investigators are not currently looking for anyone else but they continue to ask for any information or footage that has not yet been shared by calling 0161 856 6777 quoting incident 240 of 26/10/2022.