Grandfather butchered in his bathtub years after his wife was killed

A British grandfather was butchered in his bathtub by a machete-wielding thug six years after the woman he moved to Kenya for was hacked to death in her own home.

Former football referee John Middleton, 75, was found mutilated in the bathroom of his £60,000 art-deco home in Mombasa by his cleaner on Saturday morning.

The retired water company engineer had moved from Norfolk to Kenya in 2014 to be with long-distance wife Regina and her teenage son Max.

The couple later split, and Regina was killed in 2018 after a violent break-in at her home in Kilifi.

Max, now 27, was last night being 'interrogated' in connection with his stepfather's murder.

Speaking from a police station in Mombasa, Kenya, he told MailOnline: 'The police are interrogating me in connection with the death of my father.

'I have not seen my father for some time, but we were texting each other the night before he died.

'He was totally normal. Then I got notified of his death in the morning.'

John was reportedly killed after attempting to give away 'all his property' to a local lawyer he had befriended - telling her that he had no family.

But the barrister, who MailOnline is not naming, told him to give the money to charity instead.

'He has no wife, no children, no parents, no siblings', she said.

'Upon retirement he sold everything in the UK to spend his sunset years in Kenya.

'Earlier this year, he passed by my office and told me that after deep reflection he had decided to give away all his property to yours truly.

'I said no and suggested several charities that could benefit from his estate. That was the last time we spoke.

'On Saturday, a colleague's call interrupted my afternoon nap and said, 'Your client [Middleton] was murdered in his house last night.'

'I have not stopped thinking about how I could have easily found myself in the thick of a murder investigation as a person of interest trying to explain the love triangle between myself, mzungu's [white man's] wealth and death.'

Paying tribute, Kelvin Gitau, John's stepson from his second marriage, wrote on social media: 'Words can't even explain my emotions right now.

'Before he emigrated to Kenya, he was a well-known member of the North Norfolk community. But more importantly, he's been an incredible father to me since I was three years old.

'My heart is truly broken beyond belief at how cruelly John has been taken from our lives and I'm still trying to process it all.

'John was a larger-than-life character, loved by his family, friends and will truly be missed by all who knew him.'

Fellow expat in Kenya and close friend John Smith, 77, added: 'John was an extravert and had the nickname Fishbone.

'He was a keen golfer, and he used to be a football referee. He worked for Anglia Water and moved to Kenya when he retired.

'But his wife died, and I've only ever known him as a bachelor.'

He added: 'Everyone thinks his murder was a personal attack. He had a 65-inch TV, but nothing was taken from the house. Life is cheap here in Kenya.'

Deputy County Police Commissioner Jamleck Mbuba said: 'No one has been arrested in connection to the murder, but investigations are ongoing.

'We will get to the bottom of the matter and arrest the culprits. The gate was locked and intact, but the door to his house was broken.

'It appears the motive was to kill, as the suspects did not take anything from the house.'

A Foreign Office spokesman added: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Kenya and are in contact with the local authorities.'

After being given a guard of honor at the end of his final match as a Norfolk FA referee, Mr Middleton said: 'It was a brilliant day and a good game to go out on. When I came off the pitch and saw the players lined up I could have shed a tear.'

The lifelong Arsenal fan officiated 857 games, giving out 622 yellow cards and 127 red cards.

In 1997, John won a bottle of Laurent Perrier champagne in a Daily Mail competition for spotting a likeness between actor Ralph Fiennes and goalkeeper David Seaman.