A pensioner’s body was sawn into 27 pieces, then dumped at a nature reserve, a hiking area and a reservoir, a court has heard.
The lower torso and thighs of Stewart Everett were found in a nature reserve in Salford, Greater Manchester, on April 4, 2024.
They were wrapped in cling film and hidden in an abandoned bunker in Kersal Dale nature reserve.
Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, is accused of murdering Mr Everett and is on trial at Manchester Crown Court.
He has denied both murder and manslaughter.
Jason Pitter KC opened the case for the prosecution to the jury on Tuesday, outlining the first discovery of body parts in the nature reserve.
“For obvious reasons it was not known who it was,” he said.
“What was apparent, it transpired, was that it must have been a man who had been sawn into pieces.
“As you will hear, 27 pieces.”
The “gruesome finding” triggered further investigations.
Weeks later, on April 27-28 and May 1, further body parts – including pieces of Mr Everett’s skull and ear – were found in other locations around Greater Manchester.
There was “good evidence” to suggest Mr Everett was killed on the evening and into the morning of March 27-28, 2024, the court heard.
Mr Everett was of Polish heritage and was born with the name Roman Ziemacki.
He lived at a shared house in Winton as the sole tenant, responsible for the rent. However, he sub-let rooms in the property to others, including Majerkiewicz.
“Tension” between the two men may have arisen over an increase in rent, the court heard.
Another Polish man, Michal Polchowski, also lived at the same address at the time of Mr Everett’s killing and dismemberment. However, Mr Pitter said Majerkiewicz was solely responsible.
After the initial torso find, police scoured CCTV from the area around Kersal Dale on April 4 2024, the prosecutor said.
Detectives found, two days before, around 5pm, a man was seen entering the pathway nearby carrying a heavy blue bag, walking to the wooded area where the body part was found.
The same person was seen emerging a short while later holding the bag folded up.
Majerkiewicz was traced and arrested on suspicion of murder as he matched the man in the CCTV footage, the prosecutor said.
He had on him two mobile phones, one belonging to Mr Everett, along with the dead man’s bank cards, the court was told.
When police searched Majerkiewicz’s address they found evidence of bloodstaining and a clean-up operation, showing “something terrible had happened in that house”, Mr Pitter added.
Analysis of Majerkiewicz’s phone movements and CCTV footage showed him making a number of journeys with bags before returning, the court heard.
At one location, Chesterfield Close in Winton, nine packages of body parts were recovered, the court was told.
Further body parts were found at Linneyshaw Colliery Wood and at Blackleach Reservoir.
Jurors were told only around one third of Mr Everett’s body was recovered.
Pathologists found that Mr Everett had been subject to a “sustained, severe blunt force physical assault”, with repeated blows to his head that shattered and fractured his skull.
Analysis showed dismemberment of the body was consistent with the use of a hacksaw and took place after death.
Mr Pitter added: “It is possible though, that some of the cuts occurred whilst Stuart Everett was alive.”
The trial continues.
