Nicholas Metson, a 28-year-old man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years for dismembering his wife’s body into more than 200 pieces. He then sought the help of a friend to dispose of her remains in a river.
Holly Bramley, 26, was fatally stabbed by Metson at least four times in March 2023. He then dismembered her body and kept the body parts in the kitchen larder of their shared flat in Shuttleworth House, Stamp End, Lincoln for a week.
Metson confessed to the murder and received a minimum term of 19 years and 316 days in Lincoln Crown Court. His accomplice, Joshua Hancock, who assisted in getting rid of Bramley’s remains, was handed a three-year and three-month prison sentence, along with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Sentencing Metson, His Honour Judge Simon Hirst at Shuttleworth House, Lincoln, stated that “The cause of death cannot be established given how you treated Holly’s body after you killed her.”
Bramley’s remains were initially mistaken for animal remains by an individual before a human hand was discovered in the river on the evening of March 25th, more than a week after Bramley was last seen entering her flat on March 17th.
During the court proceedings, it was disclosed that some of Bramley’s remains, including parts of her heart, were never located.
Metson initially denied the murder charges but later changed his plea to guilty before the trial started.
Prior to the discovery of Bramley’s remains, Lincolnshire Police visited the flat she shared with Metson.
At that time, Metson informed the authorities that his wife had left their home on March 19th with two individuals from a local mental health crisis team.
Upon entering the flat, officers noticed a strong smell of bleach and ammonia, a saw on a towel, bloodstained sheets in the bathroom, and a significant bloodstain on the bedroom floor.
After it was revealed that Metson had lied about his wife’s disappearance, he was arrested and charged with murder and perverting the course of justice.
An examination of Metson’s phone showed Google searches such as “How to get rid of a dead body,” “What benefits can I get if my wife dies,” and “Does God forgive murder.”
On the early hours of March 25th, Metson messaged Hancock, who lived in Walnut Close in Waddington, offering him £50 for help with an unspecified “job.”