The brother of a man murdered and dismembered by his housemate has spoken of the last time he saw him alive, recalling how they shared a laugh at Cheltenham Races weeks before he lost his life.
A new two-part series on Paramount+, The Jigsaw Puzzle Murder, examines the 2024 killing of 67-year-old Stuart Everett, also known as Roman Ziemacki, by his housemate Marcin Majerkiewicz.
Murder and Dismemberment in Salford
The case rocked Salford, Greater Manchester and the UK. Mr Everett was killed in his own home in Salford by Majerkiewicz, who repeatedly hit him over the head with a weapon.
Majerkiewicz, 42, then used a hacksaw to cut up Mr Everett's body in his bedroom at the house they both lived in on Worsley Road, Winton. He put body parts in bags for life, before walking or taking the bus to dump them in wooded areas across Salford and north Manchester.
Arrest and Conviction
Majerkiewicz was arrested about a month after he was believed to have killed Mr Everett. Police, who had been scouring CCTV footage, recognised the suspect getting on a bus and pounced.
Majerkiewicz was seen on CCTV near to five locations where Mr Everett's remains were discovered, during searches at Kersal Dale in Salford, Linnyshaw Colliery Woods and Blackleach Country Park in Walkden, land off Chesterfield Close in Winton and Boggart Hole Clough in Blackley.
Trial judge Mr Justice Cavanagh handed Majerkiewicz a life sentence in March last year and ordered him to serve a minimum term of 34 years. Majerkiewicz was found guilty of murder by a jury following a harrowing trial.
Brother's Memories
The new documentary follows the Greater Manchester Police investigation from the start, featuring interviews with Mr Everett's brother Richard Ziemacki. Mr Everett was originally from Derby, born to Polish parents.
Mr Ziemacki said his sibling loved their annual trip to Cheltenham Races. He went every March to spend the week with his family.
Mr Ziemacki added: "He absolutely loved it. Every year, he used to come back for the whole of Cheltenham week, and in March, literally two weeks before he passed, he was with us, and he absolutely enjoyed it. He enjoyed himself, had a great time."
Happy memories of that visit are now overshadowed. It was the last time Mr Ziemacki saw his brother alive.
Mr Ziemacki added: "When he left on the Saturday, I always remember seeing him off at the railway station, and that was the last time I saw him."
Looking back, he said he believes there may have been something troubling his brother in the weeks before his death.
"I could tell of his mood, and I've got to say this, but I think he had wind of some problems at home which he had to resolve."
Mr Ziemacki also recalled Mr Everett using a walking stick when he last saw him and that he appeared particularly vulnerable.
He added: "He looked like a little old man. You know, he just looked like a little old man, and I thought to myself 'how can anybody do something to somebody like that?'. What the h*** could he possibly have done to deserve what has happened?"
The investigation was exceptionally complex as detectives faced the daunting task of identifying a victim whose remains had been scattered at locations across the region.
Majerkiewicz had also assumed aspects of Mr Everett's identity, including using his phone and communicating with members of his family, as well as sending Mr Ziemacki a birthday card, leading them to believe his brother was still alive.
The Jigsaw Puzzle Murder is exclusively on Paramount+ from November 12.
