Holly Bramley dying: Husband who cut wife’s body into more than 200 pieces jailed for life

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A husband who cut his wife’s body into 224 pieces earlier than paying a buddy £50 to assist him dump her stays in a river has been jailed for life.

Nicholas Metson, 28, stabbed Holly Bramley, 26, not less than 4 occasions in March 2023 earlier than dismembering her and retaining her body components saved for every week within the kitchen larder on the flat they shared in Lincoln.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Metson tried to cowl up his “barbaric” act by shopping for massive quantities of cleansing merchandise and enlisting his college buddy Joshua Hancock, 28, to assist transfer the body components to the River Witham in Bassingham after providing him £50 to assist with a “job”.

He additionally used her Facebook account to message her associates and trick them into considering she was nonetheless alive, claiming she had left him and moved to Manchester whereas sending himself cash from her checking account.

A search of his cell phone later revealed Metson had made Google searches together with “How to get rid of a dead body”, “What benefits can I get if my wife dies” and “Does God forgive murder”.

Ms Bramley’s stays have been found by a member of the general public within the river on the night of March 25 – more than every week after she was final seen. The man who discovered the body initially thought the stays belonged to an animal till he seen a human hand. Some of Ms Bramley’s stays, together with components of her coronary heart, have by no means been recovered.

Metson initially denied homicide earlier than altering his plea to responsible earlier than the trial. On Monday, he was jailed for life, with a minimal sentence of 19 years and 316 days.

Branding him an “evil monster” who had satisfied his spouse that her household have been abusive, Ms Bramley’s mom Annette stated her household had suffered “unimaginable pain”.

Describing her daughter as “beautiful, kind and loving”, she stated: “Her last moments being filled with pain will haunt us forever. Her life was taken by someone who quite clearly has no regard for human life.

“We were prevented from seeing Holly in the years leading up to her murder. We were prevented from seeing her before her death and due to his monstrous actions, he made sure we were prevented from seeing her after her death.

“Holly will always be in our hearts, we will never forget her and the impact she had on our lives.”

The court docket heard how, earlier than her stays have been discovered, and whereas Ms Bramley was lacking, Lincolnshire Police attended the flat she and Metson shared. Metson informed officers his spouse had left their dwelling on 19 March with two members of an area psychological well being disaster workforce.

Officers seen a “strong smell of bleach and ammonia” within the flat, a noticed on a towel, bloodstained sheets of their toilet and a big bloodstain on their bed room flooring.

After police established that what Metson had informed them about his wife’s disappearance was a lie, he was arrested and charged together with her homicide and perverting the course of justice.

As nicely as his sinister search historical past, he had additionally had despatched a message to Hancock, of Walnut Close in Waddington, within the early hours of March 25 providing him cash in return for assist with a “job”.

Hancock was arrested on April 5 and charged with obstructing a coroner.

Extensive CCTV searches revealed Metson shifting a lot of baggage from his flat on the 14th flooring into a elevate earlier than placing them into his yellow Peugeot within the early hours of 25 March.

Metson, who initially denied killing his spouse however modified his plea to responsible on 23 February, and Hancock, who pleaded responsible to disposal of a corpse with intent to hinder or stop a coroner’s inquest on the identical listening to, confronted members of Ms Bramley’s distraught household in court docket on Friday.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Hirst stated that it was “plain” that Ms Bramley was “a much loved young woman”.

He stated: “She is described by her mother as beautiful, kind, and loving. It is also plain that Holly’s friends have been left with a void that will never be filled in their lives.”