Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, chopped up his housemate Stuart Everett and scattered his body parts across six different locations. The moment he was caught came completely by chance
A killer who murdered and dismembered his housemate before scattering his body parts across six locations was caught thanks to a chance sighting by police. Last week, Marcin Majerkiewicz was found guilty of brutally murdering 67-year-old Stuart Everett, in a case that began when the victim’s torso was found by a member of the public in Salford woodland on 4 April 2024.
Bombshell CCTV evidence revealed that two days before the gruesome discovery, Majerkiewicz had entered the area carrying a heavy blue bag for life. He could be seen visibly struggling with it as he passed it between his hands.
But the real breakthrough came three weeks after the torso discovery. Two police officers were driving along Eccles Old Road trying to find further CCTV when, by chance, they spotted someone who they believed to be the suspect carrying the bag from the earlier footage. Officers followed Majerkiewicz as he boarded a bus, where he was arrested on suspicion of murder, the BBC reports.
Jurors heard that Majerkiewicz had bludgeoned Mr Everett to death before cutting his body up with a hacksaw and dumping the parts in different areas across Salford and north Manchester. Three plastic bags containing human remains were discovered. One bag contained thigh skin and muscle, genitalia and part of the lung and skin. A second bag contained a kidney, skin and further muscle while a third bag contained the heart and part of the right lung.
Mr Everett first met Majerkiewicz while teaching English to new Polish immigrants. He had worked for both the NHS and Department for Work and Pensions and was known as “Benny” to his family. He lived in a three-bed terraced house on Worsley Road in the Winton area of Salford and began sub-letting the two other bedrooms, with Majerkiewicz moving in during 2017.
Majerkiewicz, who is a father-of-two with his Polish ex-partner, denied responsibility for the killing but offered no evidence in his defence. While his motive remains unclear, police said Majerkiewicz had a “fixation with horror and gore” and had a tattoo of the Friday the 13th slasher-film character Jason Voorhees.
After the torso was discovered, police launched Operation Harker and went on to find human remains in six different areas – including a short walk from Mr Everett’s home address. When police searched the property, they found evidence of blood on a carpet and furniture and an attempted clean-up of the scene. There was heavy bloodstaining in Majerkiewicz’s bedroom.
Following DNA testing and forensic examinations, Stuart’s blood was found on the sofa bed, which is believed to be where he was killed. The fridge freezer also contained his DNA. During Majerkiewicz’s police interview, he provided minimal information to detectives.
Tragically, during the three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, the jury heard that Mr Everett’s family initially had no idea he was dead. Majerkiewicz had taken control of his victim’s finances, his mobile phone, and even sent text messages and a birthday card to his family pretending to be him.
Jason Pitter KC, prosecuting, said: “That precise nature of the relationship with Stuart is not entirely clear. What can be said is that they were close, as evidenced by some of the communications, in particular from Stuart. That closeness, it would appear to have enabled the defendant to access and take some control of the identity of Stuart Everett, in particular e-mail and telephone services, especially after Stuart Everett’s death.”
He continued: “Messages were sent to people including family members, calculated to give the impression that Stuart Everett was still alive. That included exchanges with Mr Everett’s niece to wish her a happy birthday, but sent in terminology which was not consistent to have been from him. That would be correct of course given the message was sent on April 16 when he was already dead. It also included messages to his brother to give the impression that he was in the process of moving to a different address from Worsley Road.”
Majerkiewicz researched the address of Mr Everett’s brother in Derby to send a birthday card to him pretending to be Everett, the court heard. This birthday card had the killer’s fingerprints on and read: “To Rich, happy birthday and all the best my old man 🙂 Benny xxxx.”
The victim’s brother Richard Ziemacki gave a witness statement saying that he had initially “not noticed anything unusual”, going by his messages and the card he received. However, on reflection, he told police: “I do not recognise the handwriting as belonging to my brother,” adding that his brother would not have used the phrase “my old man”.
Majerkiewicz made no reaction as the jury found him guilty. He will be sentenced on Friday 28 March.