Christopher Wright, a 73-year-old farmer from South Yorkshire, has been sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison for the murder of his lodger, Richard Dyson. Wright was convicted in July 2026 at Sheffield Crown Court for the murder, which occurred in November 2019.
The court heard that Dyson, 55, had been living in his car on Wright's farm in Hoyland and doing jobs for the then 67-year-old. An argument broke out when Wright, an antique firearms collector, confronted Dyson with suspicions of stealing and selling his possessions. Dyson was shot in the chest and arm with a shotgun, killing him.
Wright, a former butcher, dismembered Dyson's body over several days before placing the remains in a barrel filled with concrete. He then asked an unsuspecting neighbour to store a trailer containing the barrel. Dyson's remains were undiscovered for more than five and a half years, until July 2025, when new evidence led South Yorkshire police to search the farm.
Mr Justice Cotter told Wright that he would likely die in prison, noting Wright's experience as a butcher made him "skilled enough to do such a terrible thing." DCI Andy Knowles praised Dyson's family for their strength during the "long, complex and emotionally draining" investigation.