‘Evil monster’, 28, who murdered his wife, 26, and chopped her up into 224 pieces then stored the remains in their flat for a week before dumping the body parts in a ‘bag for life’ in a river is jailed for life

A husband who cut his wife’s body into more than 200 pieces and then paid a friend £50 to help him dump her remains in a river has been jailed for life. 

‘Evil monster’ Nicholas Metson, 28, had previously denied the murder of 26-year-old Holly Bramley (latterly Metson) between March 17 and 25, 2023, but changed his plea to guilty when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on February 23.

A total of 224 body parts belonging to Ms Bramley were recovered from the River Witham in Bassingham, 12 miles from her Lincoln home, in March last year.

Officers were first alerted to a concern for her welfare after reports of an incident on the 14th floor of Shuttleworth House in Lincoln, where she and Metson lived.

At a sentencing hearing on April 5, 2024, the court heard how Metson chopped up Holly’s body parts after killing her and placed them in plastic bags. 

They also heard how the killer tried to cover up what he had done by purchasing large amounts of cleaning products and enlisting his school friend Joshua Hancock, 28, to help move the body parts by offering him £50 to help with a ‘job’. 

Ms Bramley’s remains were eventually found by a member of the public, eight days after she was last seen , who initially thought they belonged to an animal until he noticed a human hand in the river on the evening of March 25.

Some of her remains, including parts of her heart, have never been recovered, the court heard.

Today, Metson was jailed for life, with a minimum sentence of 19 years and 316 days.

Addressing the public gallery, Judge Hirst said: ‘It is remarkable how well everybody has behaved in this case with enormous emotional difficulties.’

Before her remains were found and while Ms Bramley was missing, Lincolnshire Police attended the flat they shared, with Metson telling them his wife had left their home on March 19 with two members of a local mental health crisis team.

Officers noticed a ‘strong smell of bleach and ammonia’ in the flat, spotted a saw on a towel, bloodstained sheets in their bathroom and a large bloodstain on their bedroom floor.

After discovering what Metson had told them about his wife’s disappearance was a lie, he was arrested and charged with her murder and perverting the course of justice.

A search of his mobile phone revealed Metson had made Google searches including ‘How to get rid of a dead 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 in Waddington, in the early hours of March 25 offering him money in return for help with a ‘job’.

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

Hancock admitted obstructing a coroner, as well as unrelated offences of attempting sexual communication with a child and drug offences. He was jailed for three years and three months in total. 

Joshua Hancock, 28, of Walnut Close in Waddington, also pleaded guilty to disposal of a corpse with intent to obstruct or prevent a coroner’s inquest. 

The court heard how Metson paid Hancock, a long-time friend, £50 to help him dispose of Holly’s remains.

For this, Hancock was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Hancock was also sentenced for a number of other crimes, including attempted sexual communications with a child and possession of drugs, which increased his total sentence to three years and three months.

Ms Bramley and Metson are believed to have met at Boston College in 2016 and married in 2021.