Two men plead guilty to manslaughter after death of Polish man on Teesside

Two men have admitted killing a father before his mutilated body was dumped in a shallow grave.

Tomasz Dembler, a Polish father of one who moved to the UK to begin a new life, died in March last year.

In April, his naked body was found buried in woodland near Middlesbrough. His hands had been cut off at the wrist.

Five men have been on trial for the murder since January, but today two of them - Rafal Chmielewski and Zbigniew Pawlowski - pleaded guilty to manslaughter instead.

The three other co-accused - Monika Solerska, Tomas Reczycki and Adam Czerwinski - all pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by helping to dispose of Mr Dembler's body.

The court had heard that there was an argument days before the murder in which Mr Dembler was alleged to have made a sexual slur against Pawlowski.

On 20 March, Mr Dembler was at a house party on Edward Street in North Ormesby.

In the early hours of 21 March, he was beaten to death.

CCTV recovered by police showed two Mercedes belonging to two of the defendants travelling between the houses and Flatts Lane, where the body was recovered, several times that day.

Teesside Crown Court had earlier heard that Mr Dembler's body had been loaded into a suitcase before being taken to the woods and buried in a shallow grave.

Cleveland Police have released a statement saying they're glad to draw a line under a particularly brutal killing.

A spokesperson said: "We hope that the convictions today for the killing of Tomasz Dembler bring some closure for his family.

"Hearing the details of what happened to him have been traumatic for his loved ones, in the UK and Poland. Tomasz was a father and much-loved son and this has been a horrific ordeal for his relatives and friends.

"The case had an impact on the local community from when Tomasz was found and we're grateful for the information we received from members of the public."