Holly Bramley’s family lead domestic abuse campaign in her honour

The violence of her death is disturbing. But so too is the behaviour that led up to it.

Talking about what happened takes courage. As we sit in the garden of a hotel near Spalding, in Lincolnshire, Annette and Holly’s older sister, Sarah-Jayne, clutch hands, drawing strength from each other.

“We couldn’t save Holly, but we hope her story will help others,” says Annette.

Holly and Metson met in 2016 and married five years later.

But the family had early doubts. Holly is one of triplets and one of her brothers discovered Metson had a conviction for sharing explicit photos of a previous partner.

Annette says: “He convinced Holly he’d pleaded guilty to someone else’s offence. He brainwashed her.”

“It was terrifying,” adds Sarah-Jayne. She recalls how Metson “swept Holly off her feet” and quickly took her away from home.

“He managed to convince her that anything outside of just the two of them was not important.”

Annette adds: “He had convinced Holly that she shouldn’t have any contact with family. He stopped her from contacting any of us via social media. We were all blocked.”