A father-of-one who was found buried in a shallow grave was likely beaten to death after a post mortem found he had suffered devastating injuries including a broken back, a court has heard.
The remains of Tomasz Dembler were found near Flatts Lane Country Park in Normanby, North Yorkshire, on April 12 last year.
Mr Dembler, 39, was also found with a broken upper jaw, 15 fractured ribs, cuts to his lips and mouth and severe bruising to his head, back and chest.
The post mortem found that it is likely he had been repeatedly kicked and stamped on and that the injuries to his neck may have been caused by pressure from his attacker's arm.
On Monday, Teesside Crown Court heard that a Home Office pathologist's report found that Mr Dembler's injuries would likely have impaired the use of his lower body.
The report found hypostasis had set in before Mr Dembler was buried, suggesting he was already dead, and also found that his hands were probably cut off after he had died.
Five fellow Polish nationals - four men and one woman - are on trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of Mr Dembler's murder.
A murder trial was told it is likely father-of-one Tomasz Dembler (pictured) was likely beaten to death after a post mortem revealed he had significant injuries including a broken back
The remains of Mr Dembler, 39, were found near Flatts Lane Country Park in Normanby, North Yorkshire, on April 12 last year and prosecutors say his killers left him there in a shallow grave
Zbigniew Pawlowski, 41, of Newport, Middlesbrough; Rafal Chmielewski, 37, of Grangetown; Tomasz Reczycki, 37, of Grove Hill, Middlesbrough; Adam Czerwinski, 45, of North Ormesby; and Monika Solerska, 37, of Grangetown, all deny murder.
The prosecution say that Tomasz was killed in the hours after 3.35am on Sunday March 21 - sometime following a phone call from a friend he answered, asking him for a lift.
The father - who was separated from his partner - told his friend that he was at a party in Middlesbrough, and couldn't help her.
But Peter Makepeace QC, told the court that Mr Dembler died that morning and buried in a shallow grave near Flatts Lane Country Park in Normanby.
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