Attiyah and Matteo Clarke are still smiling just as their daddy would have wanted them to.The youngsters, aged six and nine respectively, yesterday spoke of their love for Matthew Clarke, the "best dad ever" who was stabbed to death in his bedroom earlier this week.

Their mother and Mr. Clarke's devastated wife-to-be Charlitta Spencer who discovered the murder victim's body on Wednesday afternoon yesterday invited Attiyah and Matteo to tell The Royal Gazette how they'll remember their father.

They said that even though he may no longer be with them, they're happy that he will be looking down on them from up above.

"He always made sure everybody was safe," said Attiyah. "I always think about him in my mind. Even though we can't see him, he can see us."I thought he was going to finish his life. His life was taken away."

Reflecting on his generous nature, Attiyah said:"He bought me a lot of stuff," before adding to laughs from her mother:"Daddy didn't like mommy to buy stuff."Matteo said:"I want to say that my dad was the best dad ever; and he never was rude to us; and he always wanted us to have fun.

"He never wanted us, like, to be lazy. If we sat down and did nothing, he always wanted us to have fun and enjoy what we are doing."

Matteo recalled his father teaching him how to throw a boomerang at Shelly Bay on Easter Sunday. He said he would be putting the boomerang somewhere safe to make sure he never loses it.

Ms Spencer, who would have been marrying Mr. Clarke next year, said:"He loved his family. He loved his children. He loved me. That kind of was his life. He was a great father. He always did whatever he had to do to make sure they were OK. He was a happy person. I loved him and he loved me."

Mr. Clarke, 31, a songwriter and producer, was found by his fiancée at his home in North Shore Road, Pembroke. Yesterday, Police remained at the house, near to the First Church of God.

"I was the one that found him," Ms Spencer told this newspaper. "I just thought he was sleeping. It was really bad. I ran across the street Iwas just screaming."

The victim's mother, Sharmila Gonsalvez, arrived back in Bermuda late on Thursday. She was in Trinidad, where she had been celebrating a family wedding, when she heard the news.

"My daughter called me and said to me something's happened to Matthew and I need to come home right away. She said somebody looked like they beat him up," said Mrs. Gonsalvez.

"My son (Michael) called me after that and said this is very serious. You have got to come now. I thought they were exaggerating on what happened to him. I said OK, I'm going to come back now.

"Ten minutes later, Michael called back and told me he had some very bad news for me: 'Matthew's gone.' 'Gone where?' 'He's gone.'

"I could understand if he was taken by a car, or fell off a ladder, or drowned in the sea ... but not this way. Not this way. It's bizarre. I don't think there's any forgiveness for this thing."

Describing her son's character, Mrs. Gonsalvez said:"He's the type of person you meet who, you go to any corner of the world, he draws people to him. It's his personality. He always made people feel loving and comfortable. He never had a dull moment or anything bad to say about anybody."

Mrs. Gonsalvez owns two East Meets West restaurants in Hamilton and Southampton. Mr. Clarke helped run them.

Yesterday, the Bermuda Sun reported how Mr. Clarke's twin, Michelle, said he had been stabbed 11 times in a "personal" attack, although Police have revealed few details and would not confirm or deny the claim is accurate, and have not indicated what weapon was used.

On Thursday, Police said a 32-year-old man was being questioned by Police in connection with the murder.

An update was not available yesterday.