THE family of a 36-year-old Colchester man stabbed to death at his home paid tribute to him last night - as his partner was charged with murder.Marcus Witham, who had been living with Tammy Fletcher for four years, was found with stab wounds at his home in Nathan Court, in the Blackheath area, on November 1.

THE family of a 36-year-old Colchester man stabbed to death at his home paid tribute to him last night - as his partner was charged with murder.

Marcus Witham, who had been living with Tammy Fletcher for four years, was found with stab wounds at his home in Nathan Court, in the Blackheath area, on November 1.

An incident took place at about 6pm and Mr Witham died shortly afterwards at Colchester General Hospital.

Miss Fletcher, 35, unemployed, was yesterday charged with his murder and is due to appear before Colchester magistrates this morning.

At the age of 18, Mr Witham qualified from college in Chelmsford and went on to work for construction companies in and around Colchester.

He later worked for the Sony Centre and BSkyB as an equipment installer, but unfortunately fell from a ladder in 1999 and was unable to continue with his job.

Mr Witham had a passion for photography and enjoyed reading and listening to classic 1980s music.

Yesterday, Mr Witham's parents John 61, and Ann, 63, and brother, Matthew, 28, released a moving tribute to him.

They said: “Marcus was a very private person who deep down was a big softy, whose willingness to help others often led him into trouble.

“He was a very intelligent man who will be greatly missed by his friends and family and his tragic and untimely death will leave a big hole in all our lives.

“He lived every day to the full and his motto in life was don't worry, be happy.”

Last week, Darryl Noe, a neighbour, told the EADT that he was “a nice bloke”.