Stab victim's fairytale life - artist's mum dedicated book to her son Morgan Huxley

A MURDERED man was the star of an award-winning children's book dedicated to him by his illustrator mother.

Detectives leaving Morgan Huxley's unit with some of his personal belongings. Picture: Stephen Cooper

A MURDERED man found stabbed 28 times in the torso was the star of an award-winning children's book dedicated to him by his illustrator mother.

While homicide detectives continued to scrutinise the private life and relationships of Neutral Bay man Morgan Huxley, 31, and hunt for his killer, friends remembered a charming guy who was

popular with everyone, including women.

When he was a child, Mr Huxley's mother, Dee Huxley, a well-known children's book illustrator, dedicated a story to him - Morgan and the Tooth Fairies.

"What do tooth fairies really look like? What do they do with all the teeth they collect? Morgan sets out to find the answers to these and several perennial questions in this enjoyable picture book," says its cover blurb.

The book written by Dee Huxley, mother of murder victim Morgan.

Mr Huxley was found dying on the bedroom floor of his rented Watson St unit in the early hours of Sunday morning, suffering 28 stab and slash wounds.

He was rushed to hospital but couldn't be revived.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed police were looking closely at the possibility Mr Huxley's killer was a scorned female lover, who attacked him in a "wild and frenzied" way.

But close friends of Mr Huxley said he wasn't the sort of person who made enemies.

"He was an outgoing, social, confident guy.

"He didn't upset anyone, he embraced people," friend Steven McDonald said.

The Watson Street unit block where Morgan Huxley was found stabbed 28 times. Picture: Stephen Cooper

The route Mr Huxley took home from the pub.

A former colleague, Chris Dunn, said Mr Huxley was a "true gentleman".

"You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't like Morgs," he said.

Mr Huxley was last seen leaving The Oaks Hotel on Military Rd, Neutral Bay at 1.30am, after a few quiet drinks on his own.

His flatmate found him dying in his bedroom, just before 3am.

Detectives yesterday returned to Mr Huxley's unit and left carrying a grey-coloured suit and a white shirt on a coat hanger, a motorcycle helmet and a jacket.

The flatmate, an Irish woman, who discovered the man's unconscious body, has moved out and is too traumatised to return.

The Oaks Hotel where Morgan Huxley was last seen alive. Picture: Stephen Cooper

The Oaks Hotel shot from Watson Street where Huxley's unit was located. Picture: Stephen Cooper

A neighbour said she was home at the time Mr Huxley was attacked, and recalled unusual noises from the apartment downstairs .

"I may have heard someone moaning, I just can't be sure because there's a lot of noise around here," the woman said.

A funeral service for Mr Huxley will be held on Tuesday at Macquarie Park Crematorium.

Ambulance officers at the scene. Picture: Gordon McComiskie