In March 2023, Holly, aged 26, was brutally murdered by her husband, Nicholas Metson. Metson dismembered her body into 224 pieces and, with the assistance of his friend Joshua Hancock, disposed of her remains in the River Witman in Lincolnshire, UK. Her remains were discovered by a passerby.
During Metson’s trial in 2024, Lincoln Crown Court was presented with the ‘barbaric’ details of Holly’s murder. It was revealed that Metson stabbed Holly at least four times in their bedroom and then stored her remains in the kitchen larder of their shared flat. He subsequently called Hancock, offering him £50 ($61) to help with a ‘job’.
Metson, aged 28, was apprehended and charged after police found inconsistencies in his account of his wife’s disappearance. Initially, he denied the murder but ultimately pled guilty at his trial. This resulted in a minimum sentence of 19 years and 316 days in prison, according to the BBC. Hancock received a sentence of three years and three months, in addition to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order for an unrelated offense.
Describing Metson as an ‘evil monster’, Holly’s mother, Annette Bramley, expressed in an interview her conviction that Metson ‘would kill’ her daughter.
“I knew he would kill her,” Annette told The Daily Mail. “I told police he would murder her; I told anyone who would listen. Her family could all see it, but nobody could stop it.”
Annette explained that Metson, who had been involved with Holly since she was 17, isolated Holly from her family. He convinced her that they did not love her and moved her 50 miles away from their home without informing them.
“She was young, and I would say quite naïve – vulnerable even. She had a child-like innocence to her that he used to his advantage,” Annette shared.
Although Holly largely kept the details of her relationship with Metson private, Annette recounted an incident when Holly appeared at their doorstep distraught, revealing that Metson had ‘killed their puppy’ by placing it in the washing machine and turning it on.
“Holly found the dog and managed to break open the washing machine and pull it out, but he took the dog off her and put it in the shower with the water over its face until it drowned,” Annette said, adding, “I can’t explain how terrified I was for her safety. I begged her to never go back.”
Annette also learned of other allegations of animal abuse by Metson, such as drowning three kittens, placing Holly’s hamster in a food processor, and killing a cat, which he then buried in the front garden.
Concerned for her daughter’s well-being, Annette made several attempts to speak with the police, but Holly declined to press charges against Metson.
“It still plays on my mind why she would have gone back to someone who inflicted acts of such unimaginable cruelty on her animals,” Annette said, expressing ‘thankfulness’ that the couple never had children.
“To me, the animal abuse is such an obvious precursor to the fact that he would one day act out these barbaric practices on a human – but nobody would listen, least of all Holly,” she continued.
The BBC reported that prior to her death, Metson had placed Holly ‘in a headlock’, prompting her to bite his arm ‘in a desperate attempt to escape his grasp’.
After her death, Metson used Holly’s social media accounts to deceive her family and friends into believing she was still alive.
At the sentencing, Judge Simon Hirst told Metson: “The cause of death cannot be established given how you treated Holly’s body after you killed her.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please remember that you are not alone. The national domestic violence helpline is available 24/7 for confidential support at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). You can also find a list of local resources here.