An “evil monster” chopped his wife’s body into more than 200 pieces and then paid a friend £50 to help him dump her remains in a river.
Nicholas Metson, 28, stabbed Holly Bramley, 26, at least four times in March 2023, then dismembered her and hid her body parts for a week in the kitchen pantry of the flat they shared in Shuttleworth House, Stamp End, Lincoln.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Metson tried to cover up what he had done by buying a large quantity of cleaning products and appealing to schoolmate Joshua Hancock, 28, to offer him £50 to help carry his body parts to the River Witham in Bassingham. A business”.
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC told the court on Friday that the “distorted and barbaric” way in which Metson dismembered his wife into at least 224 separate pieces “went far beyond what was necessary to move the body”.
Ms Bramley’s remains were found in the river on the evening of March 25, more than a week after she was seen entering her flat by members of the public who thought they belonged to an animal until they noticed a human hand. On March 17.
The court heard some of Ms Bramley’s remains, including parts of her heart, were never found.
Before their bodies were found and while Mrs Bramley was missing, Lincolnshire Police went to the flat they shared and Metson told them his wife had left their home with two members of a local mental health crisis team on March 19.
Officers noticed a “strong odor of bleach and ammonia” in the apartment, saw a saw on a towel, blood-stained sheets in their bathroom, and a large blood stain on their bedroom floor.
After discovering that Metson’s statements about his wife’s disappearance were lies, he was arrested and charged with murdering his wife and perverting the course of justice.
A search of his mobile phone revealed that Metson had made searches on Google such as “How to get rid of the body”, “What benefits can I get if my wife dies” and “Does God forgive murder”.
He had also sent a message to Hancock, of Walnut Close, Waddington, in the early hours of March 25 offering money in exchange for help with a “job”.
Hancock was arrested on April 5 and charged with obstructing the coroner.
In the days following his wife’s murder, Metson used his Facebook account to send messages to friends and trick them into believing she was still alive.
He tried to convince them that she had left him and moved to Manchester as they sent him money from his bank account.
Extensive CCTV investigations revealed that Metson had carried a large quantity of bags from his 14th-floor flat into a lift in the early hours of March 25 and then placed them in his yellow Peugeot.
Metson, who initially denied murdering his wife but pleaded guilty on February 23, and Hancock, who pleaded guilty at the same hearing to disposing of a body with intent to obstruct or impede a coroner’s inquest, were confronted by members of Ms Bramley’s distraught family. In court on Friday.
Bramley’s mother, Annette, branded Bramley an “evil monster” who convinced her husband that his family was abusive and said her family had suffered “unimaginable pain”.
Describing his daughter as “beautiful, kind and loving”, the actor said: “We will forever remember that her last moments were filled with pain.
“His life was taken by someone who had no respect for human life.
“We were prevented from seeing Holly in the years leading up to the murder. We were prevented from seeing him before his death, and because of his monstrous actions, we were prevented from seeing him after his death.
“Holly will always be in our hearts, we will never forget her and her impact on our lives.”
Addressing Metson in the dock, Miss Bramley said: “Your actions have sentenced me to a life sentence of grief, which I am sure will be a life sentence.
“I pray to God you get the same.”
Miss Bramley’s sister Sarah-Jayne Lindop said: “You stole Holly’s life in March 2023 but years before that you stole her from ours.
“You took her from a caring and loving family, and when she came back home or you told her she wasn’t good enough or beautiful enough, you lured her back using the thing she wanted most in her life. world – being a mother.
“We are shattered people who have lived the last 12 months as shells of the people we were before.
“We lost hope of taking our Holly home, you carelessly took her life and threw her away like she was nothing when she was everything to us.
“The hurt is huge and probably always will be. “Losing him in such a cruel and cruel way affected us so deeply that many of us needed specialist help to get by.
“I truly regret the day you saw our brother.”
Allison Summers KC, defending Metson, said in mitigation that he has an autism spectrum disorder which impairs his self-control and prison would present him with “some additional challenges”.
“This is someone with moderate autism. It is a significant neurological disorder with learning disabilities.
“This is a young man with certain issues and, despite certain appearances, it is clear that he is socially isolated and often operates in bubbles.
“He can’t make friends and can’t see the world from anyone’s perspective but his own.
“For all the horror this man has wrought, he is a defenseless man himself and that is why Holly was his appointed carer.
“Someone can be both defenseless and the perpetrator of something very bad. Prison will cause great difficulties for him, just as it is for many people.
“He won’t have run away from his family if he hasn’t shown any remorse.
“Due to his autism and other disorders, his capacity for remorse is extremely limited and he has profound difficulties in empathizing with others and reading the emotions of others.”
Raglan Ashton, defending Hancock, said: “Mr Hancock bitterly regrets his involvement and the role he played in the incident.
“His involvement was limited, starting with a series of messages Metson sent him asking him to do a job for him.
“In my presentation, he insists on this request and the message is followed by a series of messages. He repeats this request.
“Mr Hancock did not know what this job entailed. He was engaging in an activity that was not his business.
“There are also mental health issues on the part of Mr Hancock. He has autism and ADHD and is classified as below average in cognitive functioning.
“He acknowledges the pain and suffering the family is feeling and is quite appalled.”
Judge Simon Hirst said: “It will be a source of great disappointment to Holly’s family that they were never told how and why she died.”
He deferred sentencing for both men until Monday.