Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Butcher who “neatly severed” man’s body and hid remains in barrel found guilty
Christopher Wright was found guilty of murdering Richard Dyson, whose body was dismembered and concealed in a concrete-filled barrel on a Barnsley farm after he disappeared in 2019. The verdict brings a resolution to a case in which Mr Dyson’s remains were discovered nearly six years later, following a long-running police investigation.
Prosecutors said Wright shot Mr Dyson and then cut up his body before hiding it in a barrel on neighbouring land; the remains were found in July 2025. Wright had denied murder and related offences, while his co-defendant, Karl Schwalbe, faced an allegation of helping to conceal the crime; the article reports the jury’s verdicts following their trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
In short
- Christopher Wright was convicted of murdering Richard Dyson.
- Dyson’s dismembered remains were found six years after he vanished.
- The case centred on a body hidden in a concrete-filled barrel.
Explained simply
Richard Dyson disappeared in 2019 in circumstances that remained a mystery for years. His remains were eventually found in July 2025, concealed in a concrete-filled barrel on a Barnsley farm, having been dismembered.
Christopher Wright and Karl Schwalbe were charged in connection with the case. Prosecutors alleged that Wright killed Dyson and cut up his body to conceal it in the barrel, whilst Schwalbe was accused of helping to hide the remains.
The six-year gap between Dyson's disappearance and the discovery of his body made this a particularly protracted investigation. The case was tried at Sheffield Crown Court.