A man who murdered and dismembered his friend before dumping parts of his body in public spaces across Salford and north Manchester has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 34 years in prison.
Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, was sentenced at Manchester crown court on Friday having previously been found guilty of the murder of Stuart Everett, 67, after a two-week trial at the same court.
Greater Manchester police launched what the force described as “one of the most unprecedented investigations in recent times” after a member of the public found human remains in Salford’s Kersal Wetlands on 4 April last year.
Following the discovery, dozens more body parts were found in several other green spaces, with some found by another member of the public.
Police carried out extensive searches of land and water across 19 areas of Greater Manchester over a four-month period and recovered human remains and evidence from 15 of the search sites.
Officers recovered approximately 30% of Everett’s body, but said most of his remains would probably never be found.
Trial judge Mr Justice Cavanagh told Majerkiewicz, who made no reaction as he was jailed, it was pre-planned murder for gain, to steal Everett’s money to pay off the killer’s spiralling debts.
He said: “You acted in an almost unbelievably cold-blooded and macabre way and showed complete disrespect and contempt for your friend’s remains.
“This denied dignity to Stuart Everett even in death and greatly increased the pain suffered by Stuart Everett’s family when the murder came to light.”
The trial heard that when they launched the murder investigation, police did not know the identity of the victim, but trawled CCTV and found footage of Majerkiewicz, who detectives at the time dubbed “heavy bag man”, struggling to carry a shopping bag.
They began tracking his movements, and Majerkiewicz was arrested after officers who recognised him from the CCTV footage spotted him getting on a bus. Detectives then established that his housemate, Everett, had not been seen for several weeks and forensic DNA testing found the remains were his.
The court heard that after the murder, Majerkiewicz had tricked Everett’s family into believing he was still alive, sending them WhatsApp messages, birthday cards and gifts.
Everett’s family described him as “a unique and endearing character who always put his family and many friends first”, who “loved his food, his garden, his music and a flutter on the horses”.
DCS Lewis Hughes, the senior investigating officer on the case, said: “We said from the start that we wouldn’t give up, and the victim and their family remained at the forefront of our minds and actions throughout. We have been focused on both ensuring justice in this case, but also ensuring the victim could be returned to his family and laid to rest.”
