Police have named a man whose body parts were found in a Salford nature reserve this month as 67-year-old Stuart Everett.
Two men are to appear in court on Tuesday charged with murdering Everett, whose dismembered abdomen was found on 4 April in Kersal wetlands, a popular walking spot, causing “shock waves” in the community.
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, were remanded in custody before a preliminary hearing at Manchester crown court. The men, who lived together, are accused of killing Everett sometime between 25 March and 2 April.
While formal identification was yet to take place, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said specially trained family liaison officers were supporting Everett’s family, who had “heard the most devastating news that anyone could hear”.
DNA samples had been sent away for urgent forensic analysis, according to GMP, which would provide the force with enough information to formally identify Everett’s body.
After the discovery of a lower back, buttocks and thigh, which were found wrapped in cellophane, police cordoned off the area for two weeks to search for the remaining body parts but no initial finds were made.
Over the weekend, police opened a further four crime scenes at locations in Salford, where other remains had been found. These were still to be tested but GMP said the force was confident they belonged to the same person.
DS Lewis Hughes, from GMP’s serious crime division, said: “My thoughts and the thoughts of officers and staff across Greater Manchester police are with Stuart’s family at this traumatic time. Family liaison officers are supporting them through each update in our investigation.
“On behalf of Stuart’s loved ones, I ask the public and the press to please respect their wishes for peace and privacy while they process this most devastating news. My officers and detectives, alongside additional resources from across the force, have worked tirelessly over the last three days to secure charges.”
“We are grateful for the public’s continued help and support throughout this case. We understand the shock waves this has caused throughout the community and beyond, and we hope you are reassured by the pace of our investigation and also our large police presence in the areas as we continue to make inquiries.
“We have officers drawn from different teams and units in GMP, who have helped us search and their efforts do not go unnoticed, and they have all played an important role to help us get to this stage in our investigation.
“We said right at the start that our investigation will not stop until we have every stone unturned, and this continues to be the case. Our investigation has been a huge process so far, and we will continue to push forward in our inquiries to find answers for Stuart’s family.”
