A man has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 34 years for murdering a pensioner and dismembering his body with a hacksaw.
Warning: This article contains details that some people might find distressing.
Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, bludgeoned Stuart Everett with a hammer at the house they shared in Salford, Greater Manchester, overnight between 27 and 28 March last year.
He used a hacksaw to dismember the 67-year-old, cutting him into 27 pieces, before taking the body parts in plastic bags on bus journeys across Salford and Manchester to dump the evidence.
Image: Bodyworn video footage of Majerkiewicz’s arrest. Pic: Greater Manchester Police
Police say the Polish father-of-two had an obsession with gore and gruesome horror, as well as a tattoo of slasher-film character Jason from the horror franchise Friday the 13th.
Majerkiewicz denied responsibility for the killing but offered no evidence in his defence. His motive remains unclear.
Jurors convicted him of murder following a three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. On Friday, he was jailed at the same court for life with a minimum term of 34 years.
Trial judge Mr Justice Cavanagh told Majerkiewicz, who was unemployed at the time of the crime, it was pre-planned murder for gain, to steal Mr Everett’s money to pay off his spiralling debts.
Image: Victim Stuart Everett. Pic: Greater Manchester Police
Majerkiewicz, who planned to flee abroad after the murder, owed £60,000 in loan debt and £14,000 on credit cards, the court heard.
Mr Justice Cavanagh 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.”
Mr Everett’s family initially had no idea he was dead as Majerkiewicz had assumed use of his finances and his mobile phone, even sending text messages and a birthday card to his relatives purporting to be from Mr Everett.
The court heard that, while former civil servant Mr Everett was murdered overnight between 27 and 28 March last year, police were only alerted after his torso was found at Kersal Dale nature reserve in Salford on 4 April.
Image: A police tent in Kersal Dale nature reserve where Mr Everett’s torso was found. Pic: PA
Police scoured CCTV and found that two days before the discovery, a man entered the wooded area carrying a heavy blue bag and left shortly after without it.
His identity was unknown. But three weeks later, Majerkiewicz was spotted by an officer working on the case who drove past him by chance and noticed his resemblance to the man from the CCTV.
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Moment Salford killer is arrested
When police searched Majerkiewicz’s address, they found evidence of blood on a carpet and furniture and an attempted clean-up after the killing and dismemberment.
After discovering the torso, police launched Operation Harker, which found evidence at 15 crime scenes and human remains at five different sites.
Only a third of Mr Everett’s body has been recovered.
Mr Everett had worked for the NHS and the Department for Work and Pensions. He was known to his family as Benny.
His brother Richard Ziemacki, in a victim impact statement read to the court, said: “It’s extremely difficult to put into words how much I miss him. Seeing my brother on CCTV and listening to his voice for the last time will be moments that will live with me forever – I have no words other than absolutely horrendous.
“Every day we have sat watching in disbelief as the evidence unfolded and clearly shown the way my brother’s end had been planned and orchestrated by an incredibly devious, monstrous individual.”
Police have issued a £10,000 reward for information about a teenager who disappeared from his home nearly 17 years ago.
Alexander Sloley, a 16-year-old accountancy student, had little money, no wallet and no passport when he went missing in Islington, north London, two days before his birthday in August, 2008.
He had been visiting a friend’s home in Edmonton, but had set off home at around midday.
His family and friends have not heard from him since, and, despite repeated appeals and enquiries, police have never been able to find him.
Mr Sloley had no belongings or spare clothes that would indicate he planned to run away, and his phone, bank account, and national insurance number have not been used since he went missing.
He has also never been spotted on CCTV. In 2009, his case was one of the first to be publicised on nearly 13.5 million milk cartons at supermarket chain Iceland.
Image: What Alexander Sloley may look like now. Pic: PA
When he went missing, Mr Sloley was described as a light-skinned black male, 5ft 5ins tall and of medium build, with striking blue eyes.
According to the Camden New Journal, in 2012 a police officer said about Mr Sloley’s disappearance: “It’s like he disappeared off the face of the planet.”
In 2017, Mick Neville, a retired head of the Metropolitan Police’s Central Images Unit, said he believed there was a possible connection between Alex and missing 14-year-old Andrew Gosden.
Image: A billboard of Alexander Sloley in London in 2022. Pic: PA
Mr Gosden was last seen in King’s Cross Station in London after taking a train from Doncaster, where he lived with his parents and sister.
There has been no trace of him since.
However, in 2019, detectives said there was no proof that Mr Sloley had been harmed and there was no evidence that it was linked to any other cases.
Speaking about the Metropolitan Police’s £10,000 reward, detective chief inspector Sarb Kaur, who is leading the investigation into his disappearance, said: “Alex was reported missing to police on 8 August, 2008.
“Since then, there have been extensive enquiries made by police, but sadly Alex has not yet been found.
“We are now offering a reward of up to £10,000 for anyone who has information relating to Alex’s whereabouts.
“This remains an active missing person investigation, subject to regular review by senior officers, with the aim of locating Alex and bringing some comfort to his family. We have recently met with Alex’s mother to outline how we intend to progress our investigation to find him.
“I would ask anyone with information who could help to please get in contact immediately, no matter how insignificant you think this could be.”
The boss of Primark has resigned after admitting an “error of judgement” in his behaviour towards a woman in a social environment.
Paul Marchant stepped down as chief executive of the high-street fashion brand with immediate effect following an investigation.
Primark‘s parent firm, Associated British Foods (ABF), said he had co-operated with the investigation, and “acknowledged his error of judgment and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF”.
“He has made an apology to the individual concerned, the ABF board and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business,” the firm added.
The group’s overall chief executive George Weston said he is “immensely disappointed”.
“At ABF, we believe that high standards of integrity are essential,” he said in a statement.
“Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term.
“Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity.
“Our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual.”
ABF’s finance director Eoin Tonge will take over as chief executive on an “interim basis” – and his role will be taken up by Joana Edwards, the group’s financial controller.
The group’s statement added it “seeks to provide a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment where all employees and third parties are treated with dignity and respect”.
“Primark is committed to doing business the right way at all levels of the company,” it said.
ABF promised to continue supporting the woman who made the complaint.
Primark results due soon
The group will still publish its interim results for the financial year as planned on 29 April, according to its statement.
Sales at the store fell by 6% – with Primark saying it expects “low single-digit” sales growth for 2025 as a result – down from mid single-digit levels in November 2024.
Speaking at the time, Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “If Primark is struggling, you know the UK retail sector is in trouble.”
A British explorer has become the first woman to complete a solo traverse of Canada’s Baffin Island.
Camilla Hempleman-Adams, 32, pulled a sledge 150 miles in temperatures as low as -40C and winds as high as 47mph.
She finished the trek from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung in 13 days – a day ahead of schedule.
Image: The Briton completed the challenge a day faster than expected. Pic: PA
The largely uninhabited Arctic island is the fifth largest in the world and is in far northwest Canada – between the mainland and Greenland.
Speaking from the Inuit hamlet of Pangnirtung, Ms Hempleman-Adams said: “I’m feeling pretty exhausted, I have very sore feet, but it’s nice to be back in civilisation, just slowly settling back in.
“It’s been a really tough two weeks, but an incredible two weeks.”
“When you go in by yourself, you just have a mindset to keep going,” she said.
“You adapt, you have the mindset that you can’t give up. There is no giving up in those conditions.”
She admitted she had been looking forward to a hot shower.
Image: Ms Hempleman-Adams was met at the finish line by her father. Pic: PA
Her father, adventurer Sir David Hempleman-Adams, flew out to meet her at the finish line.
He said he’d been “really, really worried” due to the strong winds – which increase the chance of frostbite.
“Being solo, you’ve got to be really on top of your game the whole time. If you just lose concentration for five minutes, it’s a real problem,” he said.
Sir David added: “It’s a fantastic advertisement for females. I mean, we are big, ugly and strong, but she’s half my weight and did it twice as fast as I did.”
Ms Hempleman-Adams also became the youngest British female to ski to the North Pole when she was just 15.