The older brother of Matthew Clarke yesterday extended an open invitation to the Island for the murder victim's funeral this Friday.

Michael Clarke said his family has received excellent support from shocked friends and relatives across Bermuda and overseas since his brother's body was discovered in his bedroom on Wednesday last week.

Mr. Clarke said he hoped people would show up in numbers at St. Paul AME Church, Court Street, at 2 p.m., to give the father-of-two the send-off he would have wanted.

"Everyone who wants to come and pay their respects, they should come. Matthew would have expected a big funeral," Michael Clarke told The Royal Gazette.

"I know a lot of people, close friends of Matthew, are really stunned.

"One guy went back a long way — he came over to the house telling Mom how shocked he was. Then he started asking Mom: 'Who could do something like this?'

"The guy started sobbing. I walked away to get some tissues. I came back and he was running across the street.

"It's something that's torn a piece of Bermuda, part of the fabric.

"If you didn't know him, you knew someone who knew him. We've had people coming by, people calling from overseas."

Matthew Clarke, 31, a songwriter and producer, was found by his fiancée Charlitta Spencer in his home at North Shore Road, Pembroke, on Wednesday afternoon.

Three people have been arrested: a 32-year-old Southampton man last Thursday; and a 23-year-old Pembroke man and 17-year-old Warwick man over the weekend.

Matthew Clarke's twin sister Michelle told the Bermuda Sun he had been stabbed at least 11 times in a "personal" attack.

Police have revealed few details and have not indicated what weapon was used, but Det. Chief Insp. Antoine Daniels, who is leading the investigation, has said they are making steady progress thanks partly to the willingness of witnesses to come forward.

Messages of support are continuing to come in on Michelle's Facebook page, with friends urging her to: "Keep ya head up!" and: "Please let us know if there's ANYTHING we can do during this time of unimaginable loss. We love you!"

Meanwhile Royal Gazette sports reporter Colin Thompson, who served in Bermuda Regiment alongside Matthew Clarke, credited the murder victim with helping get his career off the ground.

"I would always do a lot of writing, particularly when we went overseas, and at night I would read it back to the fellas," said Mr. Thompson.

"Clarke was someone who encouraged me to possibly write full-time. I used to always laugh and think it was funny.

"Eventually I did end up writing full-time. He certainly fuelled my articles in the paper.

"He would always acknowledge what I had written. It made me feel good.

"This is a tragedy and my condolences go out to his family and loved ones."

Mr. Thompson added that Matthew — known for his long braids — "complained all night" after his hair was cut short by the Regiment's barber.

Detectives would like to speak to anyone who was in the North Shore Road area or North Hamilton between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday and are particularly keen to hear from people who saw a group of men travelling in a blue truck.

Call 299-4315 or the confidential CrimeStoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.