Nicholas Metson, 28, repeatedly knifed his wife Holly Bramley, 27, in the bedroom of their 14th floor flat in Stamp End, Lincoln, then cut her body up into at least 224 pieces
A man labelled as an ‘evil monster’ has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 19 years and 316 days, for the brutal murder of his wife. The chilling act was the culmination of a series of disturbing incidents by Nicholas Metson during his relationship with Holly Bramley.
After stabbing her at least four times, 28 year old Metson dismembered his wife’s body into over 200 pieces, according to The Daily Mail. He then enlisted the help of childhood friend Joshua Hancock, paying him £100 to assist in disposing of her remains by a river in a bag for life in March 2023, after keeping them in their shared 14th floor flat in Stamp End, Lincoln for a week.
His Honour Judge Simon Hirst revealed that Metson and Hancock transported the bags filled with remains to the village of Bassingham, located 10 miles away from the flat, where they were discarded into the River Witham. As reported by The Guardian, Hancock was arrested and charged with obstructing a coroner.
He confessed to the charge, along with unrelated offences of attempting sexual communication with a child and drug offences, resulting in a sentence of three years and three months. Metson pleaded guilty to murder and had previously admitted to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by disposing of Ms Bramley’s body.
Metson’s attempts to cover up the murder by buying a range of cleaning products and discarding the body were ultimately futile as Bramley’s remains were found in the river by a passerby. By that time, an examination of his mobile phone showed Metson had conducted online searches such as “What benefits do I get if my wife has died?”, “does God forgive murder” and “Can someone haunt me after they die?”, reports the Mirror US.
The person who stumbled upon the remains initially mistook them for animal parts until they spotted a human hand on the night of March 25 – over a week since she was last seen entering her flat on March 17. During the trial, it emerged that some of the victim’s remains, including parts of her heart, were never recovered.
Judge Hirst remarked on the grievous nature of not knowing how and why Metson killed his wife.
Judge Hirst stated: “Holly’s family and friends will never know how and why she was killed,” noting additionally that Ms Bramley being dismembered into 224 pieces was a particularly troubling factor and could not be solely attributed to Metson’s autism. “That number of parts was far from necessary to remove Holly’s parts from your flat,” Judge Hirst elaborated.
The court was told how Metson had chillingly joked to police that his wife ‘might be hiding under the bed’ when they came to check on her welfare as their 16-month marriage crumbled. He even showed officers a bite mark on his arm, falsely claiming it was evidence of domestic abuse, but Judge Hirst clarified that it was inflicted by his victim in a desperate attempt to defend herself during the fatal stabbing in their bedroom.
Metson’s murder of his wife was the culmination of a horrific pattern of abuse, which shockingly included killing her puppy in the washing machine. His reign of terror also involved blending her hamsters and forcing her to flee to a police station to protect her pet rabbits.
The court also heard about Metson’s past violence, including a referral order he received in 2013 for assaulting a former partner and a community order in 2016 for sharing sexual images of another ex-partner. In 2017, he even admitted to violating a restraining order against the same woman.
When Lincolnshire police visited the couple’s flat while Bramley was missing, Metson lied, claiming she had left on March 19 with two mental health crisis team members. During the visit, the officers detected a “strong smell of bleach and ammonia” in the residence.
The scene was chilling: a saw resting on a towel, sheets smeared with blood in the bathroom, and a glaring bloodstain marking the bedroom floor. Signs of fresh paint and cleaning efforts barely concealed dark patches which were confirmed to be her blood.
The man’s tale of his wife’s absence crumbled under scrutiny. Once police unveiled the deceit, he was arrested, accused not only of murder but also of obstructing justice.
It was an arduous 13-hour task for the Home Office Pathologist to inspect what remained of the victim, yet the dismemberment was so extensive that exact cause of death remained elusive. In a harrowing disclosure, Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC narrated how Ms Bramley had sustained damage that surpassed mere dismemberment; “In short after murdering Holly he destroyed her,” Mr Aspden said solemnly.
In an emotional plea, Ms Bramley’s family urged those suffocating under domestic violence to reach 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.”