IPSWICH: A man whose death has sparked an Ipswich murder inquiry was due to become a father, it emerged today.

Although police have not released the identity of the 38-year-old who collapsed at the house he shared with his partner in Landseer Road, he has been named locally as Karl Crisp.

His death on Saturday has sparked a murder investigation which led to the arrest of a 36-year-old at his home near the Duke of York public house in Woodbridge Road.

Mr Crisp is believed to have been living at the house where he was taken ill, with his partner and two of her three daughters, for nearly a year.

A neighbour said the couple were looking forward to the birth of their first child together. The child is understood to be due in the late spring or early summer.

Lisa Cobbold said the pair were delighted when they found out they were going to have a boy.

Miss Cobbold, who lives next door, said: “She (the partner) was absolutely thrilled, but I think she will be devastated now.

“She was really chuffed that she had got her boy as she has got three girls.”

Mr Crisp’s partner is believed to be around six months pregnant.

Miss Cobbold said she was stunned by the tragedy.

Paramedics were called to Mr Crisp’s home early on Saturday morning, when he is said to have been having fits. Despite being taken to hospital for treatment he died later that day.

Mrs Cobbold said: “It’s a big shock. I didn’t know anything about it at all. A man down the road said he saw police and an ambulance, but I didn’t hear anything. I’m really shocked.

“Although Karl kept himself to himself, he was really friendly. He seemed to talk to anybody. He used to say hello if you saw him in the street or round the shops. He used to wear a baseball cap and was always in jeans and a T-shirt.

“They were always with each other shopping or going out with the kids.

“Karl was always out in the garden playing with the kids. I used to talk to him over the garden fence and he’s been round here to have a drink in the summer.

“He liked his music and we used to hear it at night-time.”

Mr Crisp, who was described as short and stocky, is believed to have moved into his partner’s home around Easter last year.

Prior to that it is understood he had lived in Perkins Way which is a short distance away just off Sandy Hill Lane.

Neighbours said Mr Crisp’s partner had not been seen at their home since the weekend.