Man found guilty of the murder of Stuart Everett
Marcin Majerkiewicz has been found guilty of the murder of Stuart Everett after an extensive investigation by Greater Manchester Police. The case involved the discovery of human remains in Salford's Kersal Wetlands, leading to a complex investigation that uncovered Majerkiewicz's attempts to conceal the crime, including sending misleading messages to Stuart's family and disposing of body parts across multiple locations. Forensic evidence, CCTV footage, and mobile phone analysis played crucial roles in securing the conviction.
Human Remains in Salford Wetlands Spark Unprecedented Murder Investigation
A passer-by’s grim discovery of human remains in Kersal Wetlands on Wednesday, 4 April 2024, launched one of Greater Manchester Police’s most complex murder investigations in recent history. What began as a routine search scene quickly evolved into a four-month investigation spanning 19 locations and involving thousands of hours of detective work.
The Serious Crime Division immediately cordoned off Kersal Dale for 12 days while crime scene investigators and forensic pathologists combed the area. Behind the scenes, the Visual Evidence Retrieval and Analysis Unit (VERA) scoured CCTV footage from the surrounding area, searching for anyone carrying heavy objects into the wetlands.
On 18 April, their breakthrough came. VERA detectives identified what they dubbed the “heavy bag man” struggling to carry a bag for life down Bury New Road in Prestwich. The footage showed him visibly straining, switching the bag between hands and pausing to rest. The human remains inside would later weigh approximately 18kg.
A week later, on 25 April, two VERA investigators spotted their suspect boarding a bus in Winton. After calling for backup, Specialist Operations officers stopped the vehicle and arrested Marcin Majerkiewicz. The victim was identified through DNA testing as his housemate, Stuart Everett, who had been missing for weeks.
The deception was elaborate. Majerkiewicz had assumed Everett’s identity for three weeks after the murder, sending WhatsApp messages, birthday cards and gifts to Everett’s family, who lived outside Greater Manchester and remained unaware of their relative’s fate.
Forensic examination of their shared home on Worsley Road revealed bloodstains seeping through carpet underlay into floorboards in Majerkiewicz’s bedroom. Detectives discovered he had attempted to clean the blood-soaked carpet with a professional rug cleaner, ultimately cutting out a section and replacing it with carpet from Everett’s room. DNA evidence on the securing nails proved Majerkiewicz had concealed the crime scene.
Further investigation revealed Everett’s blood on a sofa bed and refrigerator removed from the property. Mobile phone analysis led detectives to multiple remote locations across Salford and Manchester where Majerkiewicz had disposed of additional remains. Officers recovered approximately 30% of Everett’s body from 15 of 19 search areas.
The most disturbing discovery came at Blackleach Reservoir, where mobile phone data placed Majerkiewicz at all four corners. Underwater search teams recovered a hacksaw with Everett’s blood and, remarkably, found his skull in four separate pieces. Forensic reconstruction confirmed death by multiple blunt force trauma injuries.
After reviewing 2,000 hours of CCTV footage, processing 3,000 exhibits and taking 450 witness statements, prosecutors charged Majerkiewicz with murder. A Manchester Crown Court jury has now found him guilty. His sentencing is scheduled for a later date.
“This is a case of rarely seen complexity and scale,” stated Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes, Senior Investigating Officer. “We started with nothing, but today we have secured justice for Stuart Everett, justice in the most challenging of circumstances.”
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