A man described as an 'evil monster' was jailed for life - with a minimum sentence of 19 years and 316 days after stabbing his wife to death. The horrific killing capped off several incidents of disturbing behaviour by Nicholas Metson during his relationship with Holly Bramley.
After stabbing her at least four times, Metson, 28, cut his wife's body into more than 200 pieces reported The Daily Mail. He then paid childhood friend Joshua Hancock £100 to help him dump her remains by a river in a bag for life in March 2023 after storing her remains for week in the flat the couple shared in their 14th floor flat in Stamp End, Lincoln.
His Honour Judge Simon Hirst said Metson and Hancock drove the bags full of remains to the village of Bassingham, 10 miles away from the flat - where they were dumped into the River Witham. According to The Guardian, Hancock was arrested and charged with obstructing a coroner. He admitted the charge, as well as unrelated offences of attempting sexual communication with a child and drug offences. He was jailed for three years and three months. Metson pleaded guilty to murder. He had previously admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by disposing of Ms Bramley's body.
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While Metson had unsuccessfully tried to hide the murder by buying a myriad of cleaning products and disposing the body lBramley’s remains were discovered in the river by a member of the public. By then, a search of his mobile phone revealed Metson had made Google searches including "What benefits do I get if my wife has died?" , “does God forgive murder” and "Can someone haunt me after they die?"
The walker initially thought they belonged to an animal until he noticed a human hand – on the evening of March 25 – more than a week after she was last seen going into her flat, on March 17. In court, it was revealed some of the victim's remains including parts of her heart were never recovered. The judge said it was an upsetting point that Metson never gave a reason for how and why he had killed his wife.
Judge Hirst said: "Holly's family and friends will never know how and why she was killed," the judge said, adding that the fact Ms Bramley was cut in to 224 parts was also an aggravating feature and could not be explained by Metson having autism. "That number of parts was far from necessary to remove Holly's parts from your flat," Judge Hirst added.
The court heard Metson, had once joked to police that his wife 'might be hiding under the bed' when officers responded to a concern for welfare call about her as the couple's 16-month marriage fell apart. Metson showed a bite mark on his arm to police which he falsely claimed meant he was a victim of domestic abuse. Judge Hirst stated it had been caused by his victim when she desperately fought back as she was knifed in the couple's bedroom.
The murder was the final traumatic experience Metson subjected his wife to after a campaign of terror, which included the murder of her puppy in the family's washing machine. He also put her hamsters in a blender and once forced her to escape to a police station in a bid to save her pet rabbits.
The court heard Metson received a referral order in 2013 for a domestic assault on a previous partner. In 2016 he was also given a community order for three offences of disclosing sexual images relating to another partner. Just a year later Metson admitted to breaching a restraining order relating to the same victim.
Lincolnshire police attended the flat while Bramley was missing and Metson lied to them - saying his wife had left the home on March 19 with two members of a mental health crisis team. While there, officers noted a “strong smell of bleach and ammonia” in the flat.
They also spotted a saw on a towel, bloodstained sheets in their bathroom and a large bloodstain on the bedroom floor. There was evidence of recent redecoration and cleaning, and dark stains on the bedroom floor, which tests later showed was her blood. After police discovered what Metson had told them about his wife’s disappearance was a lie, he was arrested and charged with her murder - as well as perverting the course of justice.
It took a Home Office Pathologist over 13 hours to examine the remains, but such was the dismemberment the pathologist was unable to establish an exact cause of death. Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said Ms Bramley's injuries went far beyond what was necessary to dismember her body. "In short after murdering Holly he destroyed her," Mr Aspden added.
Ms Bramley's family stated they wanted people who were suffering to speak out. They said: "We, as a family, are asking and encouraging anyone living with domestic abuse to seek support and tell someone. There are services out there who can help victims find the happiness and freedom they deserve."
