A MAN whose body was found in a flat died from a single stab wound to the heart — and police are treating the death as a 'domestic murder'.

Forensic tests have confirmed the victim as 27-year-old James Christopher Todd.

His body was found in a badly decomposed state in Rutland Close, Clayton-le-Moors, on Monday.

Police said the injuries were caused by a knife but they have not found the weapon.

They also revealed that the stab wound was the only injury on the body.

Last night detectives were continuing to question two Blackburn men. A 25-year-old is being quizzed on the suspicion of murder and a 30-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter, leading the Force Major Investigation Team inquiry, said the victim and the suspect being held by police were known to each other.

He said: “We are looking at the relationships, associates and colleagues of the victim and the man under arrest to try and build up a picture.

“The last seven days before this man died are the gaps we need to fill.

“A knife caused the injury. It has not been recovered and we are still searching the area for it.

“I would appeal to anyone with any information that could assist us with this investigation to contact us as a matter of urgency.

“I would also appeal to anyone that knew James, friends or associates that saw him recently to get in touch as it is vital that we build up a picture of his movements in the last few days of his life.

“James’s family are naturally devastated by their loss and we have dedicated family liaison officers supporting them at this difficult time. “ A post mortem examination revealed Mr Todd died from a single stab wound to the heart. There were no other ‘significant injuries’ found by the pathologist.

It will be another week before a more accurate estimate of Mr Todd’s time of death can be made, but police believe his body had been in the first floor flat for ‘a significant period of time’, thought to be two to three weeks.

The grim discovery was made on Monday afternoon when a Hyndburn Homes housing association officer responded to a neighbours complaint about a bad smell.

When he arrived at the property, he alerted the police, who quickly arrived to gain entry.