A UK husband who cut his wife's body into at least 224 pieces and then paid a friend to help him dump the remains has been jailed for life.
Nicholas Metson, 28, stabbed his 26-year-old wife Holly Bramley multiple times in the bedroom on March 17 last year.
He then moved to the bathroom where he dismembered her and he kept her body parts stored for a week in the kitchen larder at the flat they shared in Lincoln.
Metson admitted to the murder and was handed a minimum term of 19 years and 316 days at Lincoln Crown Court, the BBC reports.
Metson's friend Joshua Hancock, who was reported to have been paid £50 (NZ$104) to help dispose of Bramley's remains, has also been sentenced to three years in prison and issued a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.
Bramley's remains were found in the River Witham at Bassingham, near Lincoln by a member of the public over a week after she was last seen.
Police divers recovered 224 remains of Bramley's body, but some of her body parts were never found, the court heard.
Speaking outside of court, DCI Jennifer Lovatt, who was in charge of the investigation, described Metson's act as "barbaric".
"And not only did he murder his wife, we now believe he also sought to dispose of her body in such a way that she could not be laid to rest.
"He tried to cover his tracks by telling friends that Holly had harmed herself, had been taken away by a local mental health team and had then run away to be with a group of people in Manchester.
"Nothing we can do can bring Holly back - but we hope that the sentence can help to start to bring some form of closure for her family who have suffered a great deal of shock and pain," Lovatt said.
A statement released by Bramley's family said the loss of was "still raw" as the family heard more of what happened to her before and after her tragic death.
"Her vibrant spirit and infectious laughter filled our lives with joy, she was truly special," the family said.
It said the sentencing was "by no means closure but it is a milestone in the process of our grief and healing".
The BBC reports that Bramley's mother Annette said her family had suffered "unimaginable pain" and branded Metson an "evil monster".
"By no means [is the sentencing] closure, but it is a milestone in the process of our grief and healing," she said in a statement.
Metson initially denied murder before changing his plea to guilty before the trial.
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