Shot in the back

Father-of-two Stephen Paddon was found in his car by police, who initially thought he had been involved in a road crash.

Doctors only discovered a bullet wound in the 43-year-old's back after he had been taken to hospital.

A murder investigation was launched by officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Mr Paddon lived with his American-born wife Denise and their two children Ashley, 13, and Joshua, 11.

Mr Paddon grew up in Southamp-ton where many of his relatives still live.

He was well-known in the city, having grown up in the Woolston area and attended Weston Park Boys' School.

After spending several years in the merchant navy Mr Paddon became a steward on cruise ships and it was while fulfilling his ambition to travel around the world that he met Denise 14 years ago when his ship docked in Miami.

The couple were married two years later at Southampton Register Office before Mr Paddon emigrated to America.

His father, Colin Paddon, of Rampart Road, Bitterne Manor, told the Daily Echo of his shock at losing his only son.

He said: "It is just hard to take it in really. I think I have come to terms with it but it just all seems so surreal because he was so far away and also because of how it happened."

Mr Paddon described his son as a friendly, fun-loving man.

"It didn't matter if you had only known him ten minutes, he made you feel like you had been friends for life. He had that way about him that made him very popular.

"I was so proud of him, the way he had gone out there, made a life for himself with his wife and two beautiful children. They had a beautiful home and then this happens. It has been a nightmare," added Mr Paddon, a retired worker for General Motors.

It is thought Mr Paddon, who was a long distance lorry driver, had been spending a night out on Friday in Harrisburg when he was targeted by an armed robber.

Mr Paddon was buried yesterday in the city he had made his home. His mother Gillian Fletcher, who is divorced from his father, made the emotional journey to the US to be there for the service.

Mr Paddon plans to go out within the next month, but first wants to organise a memorial service in Southampton for all those who knew his son.

"I haven't got anything final-ised yet but hopefully soon there will be a chance for people who knew him here to say their own goodbyes," said Mr Paddon.