DAD FOUND DEAD AFTER FAMILY IN POLAND RAISED ALARM
Body discovered at his home by ex-partner
A FORMER warehouse worker was found dead at home after his expartner became worried and went to check on him.
Marek Stefanicki’s relatives in his native Poland had also expressed concerns as they hadn’t heard from him.
Former girlfriend Aneta Michaluk, who had remained friends with the 58-year-old, decided to catch a taxi to his address in Pinfold Avenue, Norton.
An inquest heard that she knocked on the door and got no answer.
In a statement, Ms Michaluk said: “I went round checking the windows. There was a gap in the blinds in the living room. I could see his mobile phone in a brown case. I knew something was wrong.”
Mr Stefanicki had normally always got his mobile with him.
His ex-partner had a spare key and let herself into the house. “I just screamed,” she said, recalling spotting his body.
Police, who found his Polish ID card and passport in the house, went on to take his phone for analysis.
They found some job applications and a reference to him being in debt.
The inquest was told that Mr Stefanicki had expressed suicidal thoughts a couple of months before his death on December 8.
“On October 7, he called me in drink, saying he’d had enough. He was going to end his life,” said Ms Michaluk.
But he later told her he was OK. She tried to contact him again as the weeks went on.
She had been in a relationship with him for three years until January 2020.
Although Mr Stefanicki had no involvement with mental health services, she said he did have a ‘delusional psychosis, personality disorder and depressive episodes’.
Pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock carried out a digital scan following his death.
He determined the cause was asphyxiation due to hanging.
Toxicology tests showed there were no drugs in Mr Stefanicki’s system, although alcohol was present.
Recording a conclusion of suicide, North Staffordshire assistant coroner Sarah Murphy said: “This was a deliberate act by the deceased.”
She told Mr Stefanicki’s daughter, who joined the inquest via a virtual link from Poland, that it was a ‘tragic loss of life’.