Cause of death unknown after man's remains found

The cause of death of a 21-year-old man whose foot bones were found on beaches hundreds of miles apart cannot be ascertained, an inquest has concluded.

Pawel Martyniak – who had a severe depressive disorder – left home in Gorleston, Norfolk, on 30 November 2021 and was not seen again.

Bones were found in a trainer washed up in Sweden in March 2023, and a similar discovery was made at Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, three weeks later.

Coroner Yvonne Blake said she was unable to determine a cause of death due to the decomposition of his remains.

Mr Martyniak had dropped out of Essex University in 2019 and was under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

He stopped taking his medication in the summer before his disappearance and had begun to identify as female, Norfolk Coroner's Court was told.

Mental health practitioner Ian Steward-Anderson, who began seeing Mr Martyniak in 2020, said he was "quite depressed" and had experienced "some psychotic symptoms", but Mr Martyniak was ambivalent about medication and sceptical about his condition.

He talked about identity, sexuality and gender dysphoria, Mr Steward-Anderson added, and the pair discussed specialist support.

His GP confirmed Mr Martyniak wanted a referral to a gender clinic and said the surgery would have acted promptly had it known he was not taking his prescription drugs.

In a family statement, his mother and sister claimed he had not received "the necessary care and treatment" and his care had been "neglected and mismanaged".

They said Mr Martyniak had disappeared from home while they were seeking help from a neighbour after he had assaulted them both.

"All police and family efforts to find him proved fruitless," said Mrs Blake in her conclusion.

On 2 March 2023, a trainer with a sock containing the bone structure of a foot washed up on a Swedish shore, she added.

A trainer with a sock and a piece of bone in it was found on Winterton beach by a dog walker on 21 March, with DNA testing confirming both sets of bones were Mr Martyniak's.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.