‘Monster’ cut wife’s body into over 200 pieces

An "evil monster" stabbed his wife to death then cut her body into more than 200 pieces before dumping her remains in a river days later, a court heard.

Holly Bramley's body parts were found in the River Witham in March 2023.

Nicholas Metson, 28, of Shuttleworth House, Lincoln, admitted her murder and is due to be sentenced on Monday.

Lincoln Crown Court heard he paid his friend, Joshua Hancock, to dispose of his wife's remains after being kept hidden in their flat for nearly a week.

During a sentencing hearing on Friday, His Honour Judge Simon Hirst was told Metson, 28, never gave a reason for how and why he had killed his wife.

However, victim impact statements read out in court by Ms Bramley's mother and siblings indicate the 26-year-old had been subjected to "coercive control and manipulation" by the "evil monster" and the couple's marriage had "broken down irretrievably".

The couple married in 2021 after forming a relationship in October 2016 but were on the verge of separating when Metson carried out the murder, the court heard.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC told the judge Lincolnshire Police were called to the flat in Shuttleworth House on 24 March 2023 because of a concern for Ms Bramley's welfare.

Officers visited the couple's home the following day and noticed a strong smell of ammonia and bleach, bloodstained sheets in the bathtub and a towel on the kitchen floor.

There was evidence of recent redecoration and cleaning. The police also spotted a number of large dark stains on the floor in the main bedroom, which later turned out to be Holly's blood, Mr Aspden said.

Metson told officers his wife had been abusive to him, showing them a bite mark on his forearm, and she had left home with a local mental health support group on 19 March.

Police subsequently found Metson had told lies to officers, who later returned to conduct a search of the flat.

"At one point Mr Metson joked she might be hiding under the bed," said Mr Aspden.

The following day, in the early evening, a walker "made a grim discovery" when he noticed plastic bags floating in the River Witham at Bassingham, one of which contained "a severed hand", he said.

Police divers recovered 224 remains of Ms Bramley's body but parts of her heart, lungs and fingers were still missing.

Ms Bramley's head was recovered with evidence it had been shaved and it took a Home Office pathologist more than 13 hours to examine all her remains, the judge heard.

Mr Aspden said it was likely the 26-year-old was stabbed multiple times in the bedroom before being moved to the bathroom where she was dismembered. Her remains were then stored in the kitchen larder.

He said the bite mark on Metson's arm "suggests she was being restrained in a headlock".

Officers later recovered a set of garden pruners, two knives and a claw hammer from the flat following his arrest.

"In short, after murdering Holly he destroyed her," said Mr Aspden.

After murdering his wife, Metson withdrew £50 from her bank account and searched on the internet: "What benefits do I get if my wife has died" and "Can someone haunt me after they die".

CCTV footage played in court showed Ms Bramley was last seen alive returning to her flat on 17 March.

Further CCTV footage showed Metson wearing a rucksack and using the flat's lift to move bags from the 14th floor to the ground floor in the early hours of 25 March.

In court, Ms Bramley's mother, Annette Bramley, addressed Metson directly, telling him he had sentenced the family "to a life sentence of grief".

"The heinous way in which she was murdered and dismembered has left us in such unimaginable pain," she said.

Mrs Bramley said Metson's controlling and coercive behaviour had also left the family unable to see Holly in the years before her death.

The court heard Metson had previous convictions for offences against former partners in 2013, 2016 and 2017.

Metson previously admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by disposing of Ms Bramley's body on 25 March 2023.

He originally denied murder but later pleaded guilty when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court last month.

Hancock, also 28, of Walnut Close, Waddington, pleaded guilty to obstructing the Lincolnshire Coroner in the execution of his duty by helping to dispose of Ms Bramley's body.

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