Leanne McNuff's mother found her daughter with stab wounds after hearing 'banging noises' from her home next door
Her soldier boyfriend Ian Lowe, 24, on leave from serving in Afghanistan, is being questioned over killing
Tributes paid to 'stunning' mother who had been 'transformed' by the birth of her son Jaden
The couple's relationship had been strained in recent years and they had broken up once before
A young mother was stabbed to death in front of her four-year-old son after someone changed her Facebook status to 'sleeping around'.
Leanne McNuff, 24, was knifed just an hour after phoning her best friend to say her account had been hacked.
Her soldier boyfriend Ian Lowe, 24, was arrested shortly after she was attacked in front of her son Jaden in her semi-detached home in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.
Today the Private, from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment who was leave from serving in Afghanistan, was still being questioned by police over the killing on Sunday evening.
Leanne's best friend Emma Barlow, 26, said she had been worried that someone had hacked her Facebook account shortly before she was attacked.
Emma said: 'I spoke to her around 50 minutes before it happened. She was having problems with her Facebook and had phoned me for help.
'She thought someone had hacked into her account and changed her password. Jaden was still up and I could hear him in the background.'
'Someone had changed her Facebook status and it was saying nasty things about her - things that weren't true.
'She was upset because it was saying things about her sleeping around - it was all untrue. I was trying to contact Facebook.'
24-year-old Leanne McNuff was taken to hospital on Sunday night with stab wounds where she was pronounced dead a short time later
Emma said she discovered her friend, a former call centre worker, had been knifed to death on the radio news.
She added: 'Later I heard about her death on the radio. They hadn't named her, it just said a young girl had been stabbed.
'My stomach just jumped when I Googled it and I started screaming. I was texting and ringing Leanne but got no reply so I feared the worst.'
After the knife attack Leanne's mother Margaret and brother Ryan who live next door dashed round to the house to find the young woman dying.
Emma said: 'I just feel desperately sad and devastated for Jaden. He was great with my little one. He was Leanne's world and she was his. It's unbearable.'
Leanne’s mother paid tribute to her daughter in a statement she released through the police.
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 was a beautiful, kind-hearted and generous girl, who lived and breathed for her four-year-old son Jaden, who in turn idolised and adored his mummy.
'Leanne had a great sense of humour, with lovely manners, and was loved by everyone who knew her.'
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.
he 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.'
A former pupil of Fairfield high school in Droylsden and Tameside College, Leanne had worked at ATA security before becoming a mother.
Detective Inspector Graham Brock from Greater Manchester Police said: 'Our thoughts are with Leanne's family and friends at this time, who are understandably distraught that their loved one has been taken from them in this way.
'We are in the early stages of the investigation and are working to establish the full circumstances of what has happened.
'I would like to reassure residents that we do not believe there is any danger to the wider community, as we believe this is an isolated incident. We would urge anyone who may have seen or heard anything to contact us.'
Leanne's friend said she had been planning to move to Catterick, north Yorkshire, to be near Lowe, who was stationed at the garrison there with his battalion.
Soldiers who are stationed in the UK live in barracks during the week and are free to leave at weekends unless they are on duty.
Suspect Private Lowe was on leave from the army after serving time in Afghanistan when he was arrested.
Last week one of his comrades Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, was killed along with five other soldiers when a Taliban roadside bomb destroyed their Warrior armoured vehicle in Helmand Province.
An Army spokesman said: 'We can confirm that on March 11, a serving soldier from 1 LANCS was arrested on suspicion of murder.
'The matter is subject to an ongoing police investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst this is ongoing. All enquiries should be directed to Greater Manchester Police.'
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.'
A former pupil of Fairfield high school in Droylsden and Tameside College, Leanne had worked at ATA security before becoming a mother.
Detective Inspector Graham Brock from Greater Manchester Police said: 'Our thoughts are with Leanne's family and friends at this time, who are understandably distraught that their loved one has been taken from them in this way.
'We are in the early stages of the investigation and are working to establish the full circumstances of what has happened.
'I would like to reassure residents that we do not believe there is any danger to the wider community, as we believe this is an isolated incident. We would urge anyone who may have seen or heard anything to contact us.'
Leanne's friend said she had been planning to move to Catterick, north Yorkshire, to be near Lowe, who was stationed at the garrison there with his battalion.
Soldiers who are stationed in the UK live in barracks during the week and are free to leave at weekends unless they are on duty.
Suspect Private Lowe was on leave from the army after serving time in Afghanistan when he was arrested.
Last week one of his comrades Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, was killed along with five other soldiers when a Taliban roadside bomb destroyed their Warrior armoured vehicle in Helmand Province.
An Army spokesman said: 'We can confirm that on March 11, a serving soldier from 1 LANCS was arrested on suspicion of murder.
'The matter is subject to an ongoing police investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst this is ongoing. All enquiries should be directed to Greater Manchester Police.'
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