In what will come across as a really startling development, a man who murdered his wife and dismembered her into more than 200 pieces had previously killed her pets in a gruesome manner, reports have show.
Nicholas Metson, 28, stabbed Holly Bramley, 26, at least 4 times in March 2023 before dismembering her body and storing her body parts in the kitchen larder of a flat they shared in Shuttlesworth, Lincoln, UK
Joking with police officers he said she ‘might be hiding under the bed’ when they came to investigate her disappearance, Lincoln Crown Court was told.
Metson then offered his school friend Joshua Hancock £50 to help with a ‘job’, which, it transpired, involved dumping Ms Bramley’s remains in the River Witham in Bassingham.
Some of her body parts were found in the river on March 25 by a member of the public, who initially thought they belonged to an animal until he noticed a human hand.
Police made the findings more than a week after she was last seen walking into her flat on March 17.
According to the Daily Mail, Metson had a history of being cruel to animals and previously killed their pets in brutal ways in order to ‘punish’ Ms Bramley.
A source told the publication that Metson once put their new dog in a washing machine, leaving his wife to find the dead dog inside with the drum still spinning.
He also allegedly killed her hamsters by putting them in a food blender and microwave.
Ms Bramley’s mother Annette described Metson as an ‘evil monster’ and described her daughter as ‘beautiful, kind and loving’,
She added: ‘Her last moments being filled with pain will haunt us forever.
‘Her life was taken by someone who quite clearly has no regard for human life.
‘We were prevented from seeing Holly in the years leading up to her murder. We were prevented from seeing her before her death and due to his monstrous actions, he made sure we were prevented from seeing her after her death.’
The court heard the pair had only been married 16 months when Metson killed Ms Bramley and were on the verge of separating.
Metson told officers his wife had left their home on March 19 with two members of a local mental health crisis team.
Police noticed a ‘strong smell of bleach and ammonia’ in the flat, noticed a saw on a towel, bloodstained sheets in their bathroom and a large bloodstain on their bedroom floor.
Metson initially denied killing his wife but changed his plea to guilty on February 23. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by disposing of Ms Bramley’s body. He now faces possible life imprisonment. The case continues