Man found guilty of the murder of Stuart Everett

On Wednesday 4 April 2024, human remains were found by a passer-by in Salford's Kersal Wetlands. Unbeknown at the time, what would follow would be one of the most unprecedented investigations conducted by Greater Manchester Police in recent times. It was up to our detectives to uncover what had happened, to identify this person, and to ultimately find the killer.

A murder investigation was launched which was led by our Serious Crime Division. In the days that followed the discovery of human remains, Kersal Dale was swarmed with police officers, police staff, crime scene investigators and experts, including a forensic pathologist. The location was declared as a search scene for 12 days. 

Officers and crime scene investigators working at Kersale Dale

Whilst searches were ongoing at Kersal Dale, behind the scenes, our Visual Evidence Retrieval and Analysis Unit (VERA) were tasked with searching CCTV from around the Kersal Dale area in the days prior to the body part being located. They were looking for someone who was on foot, carrying something heavy into Kersal Dale. 

The team found exactly that on Thursday 18 April 2024. They found CCTV footage showing what detectives labelled at the time as unknown ‘heavy bag man’ struggling to carry a bag for life down Bury New Road in Prestwich. On the footage, he was visibly struggling and seen passing the bag between his hands and taking time to rest. The weight of the human remains later proven to be from this bag weighed approximately 18kg. 

CCTV image found by VERA 

After extensive work to track this person’s journeys, on the morning of Thursday 25 April, VERA were out several miles away in the Winton area, looking to collect more CCTV, in attempts to secure further footage of ‘heavy bag man’ in order to identify him. Two VERA investigators were driving along Eccles Old Road when they spotted someone who they believed to be unidentified ‘heavy bag man’ and decided to follow him as he boarded a bus. 

After calling for uniformed backup, officers from our Specialist Operations branch successfully stopped the bus, and Marcin Majerkiewicz was arrested on suspicion of murder. 

Bodyworn video footage of Majerkiewicz's arrest

Enquiries quickly established that his housemate, Stuart Everett, had not been seen for a number of weeks. Following forensic DNA testing, Stuart was declared the victim of this heinous crime. 

Stuart’s family, who are not local to Greater Manchester, had not reported him as a missing person. This is because Majerkiewicz had assumed Stuart’s identity for approximately three weeks since the murder. He was sending Stuart’s family WhatsApp messages and even birthday cards and gifts. Stuart’s family were misled to believe that he was still alive. 

Copy of birthday card sent to Stuart's family

Marcin Majerkiewicz and Stuart Everett’s home on Worsley Road in Winton was secured for forensic examination. From first glance, no obvious crime scene was present and this appeared like an ordinary house, on an ordinary road. The house had been partially emptied and a skip was present on the driveway.

However, during a comprehensive forensic examination by specialist Crime Scene Investigators, the carpet was peeled back in Marcin Majerkiewicz bedroom to reveal blood staining through the underlay and into the floorboards, in addition to tool marks and extensive evidence of a clean-up taking place 

Detectives found that Majerkiewicz had used a professional rug cleaner in attempts to clean the blood-soaked carpet, but he was unable to clean one part of the carpet thoroughly enough. To cover this up, he cut a piece of carpet from Stuart’s room before covering the obvious cut out with the bed. The nails used to secure the replacement carpet over the bloodstains contained the suspect Marcin Majerkiewicz DNA, proving he was responsible for concealing the crime scene. 

Image of the cut out carpet 

Through scrutinising Majerkiewicz’s call history, detectives uncovered that he called a “white van man” for help in removing furniture from the property and a sofa bed and a fridge freezer were taken to a lock up in Bury. Through examination of Majerkiewicz’s mobile phone, the sofa bed was successfully attributed to his bedroom. Following forensic DNA testing and examinations under UV light, Stuart’s blood was found on the sofa bed, which is believed to be where his life was taken. The fridge freezer also contained Stuart’s DNA. 

During Majerkiewicz’s interview, he provided minimal information to detectives. Through remarkable investigative work that followed, including CCTV and mobile phone analysis, detectives were able to identify multiple remote locations across Salford and Manchester that Majerkiewicz’s visited to deposit further human remains. These journeys were to secluded areas, waterways and country parks.

Through extensive searches of land and water, across 19 areas, detectives were able to locate Stuart’s remains or DNA at six locations, and found evidence at many more. A total of 19 crime scenes and land searches took place as a result. Each scene was unique and presented its own complexities, this required specialist tactics, skills, and resources from across the force to successfully preserve, examine and recover any evidence. 

Local uniformed officers dedicated hundreds of hours to protect the integrity of the scene and support the community. Our Tactical Aid Unit, North West Underwater Search Unit and Police Search Advisors (POLSAs) expertly and strategically searched the area. Crime Scene Investigators were brought in to recover and capture any evidence, in order for detectives thoroughly investigate what was found and piece together the clues in this complex case.

A scene was secured at Blackleach Reservoir on 27 April 2024 as mobile phone analysis confirmed Majerkiewicz had been stood at all four corners of the reservoir. Detectives requested support from the Northwest Underwater Search Team to scour for evidence. A hacksaw was recovered from deep within the water which had the victims blood present on the blade. Remarkably, in one of the most extraordinary findings, the victim’s skull was located in four separate pieces in different areas of the large reservoir. 

Officers and North West Underwater Search Unit working at Blackleach Resevoir 

Through comprehensive examination, officers working alongside a forensic pathologist, were able to reconstruct the skull and prove Stuart was murdered by multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the head. The suspect had then cut the skull into four pieces which was discarded at the reservoir in attempts to mask this important fact. 

Human remains and evidence were successfully recovered from 15 of the 19 search areas and crime scenes in this investigation, over a four-month period. Officers recovered approximately 30% of Stuart Everett’s body, but tragically, most of his remains will never be recovered. 

In total, the investigation comprised of 2000 hours of CCTV footage, 3000 exhibits and over 450 witness statements taken in order to build a strong case for trial.

Due to the overwhelming evidence recovered, Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) of Worsley Road, Eccles, was charged with Stuart Everett’s murder in late April 2024. Following a two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court he has now been found guilty of murder. His sentencing will occur at a later date. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes, the Senior Investigating Officer for this case, said: “This is a case of rarely seen complexity and scale, with detectives initially responding to partial human remains found deep within a secluded wood. But 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.  

“We knew from the beginning that we had a family somewhere that would one day learn the most distressing news that a family could ever hear, and ultimately from that moment onwards our duty was to recover and identify the victim in a respectful and dignified manner and this was just as important as solving the case and catching the killer.

“We started with nothing, but today we have secured justice for Stuart Everett, justice in the most challenging of circumstances. 

“The tenacity and professionalism of all officers involved has been exemplary and they are a credit to the communities of Greater Manchester which they serve.   

“We truly felt the public’s support throughout this investigation, the concern and compassion shown has ultimately helped us get to where we are today. 

“Hundreds of officers from across the Force, Specialist Operations, CSI, Detectives and Police Staff were all motivated to ensure the abhorrent actions of Marcin Majerkiewicz did not go unpunished.”