A farmer has been jailed for 35 years after shooting his lodger, dismembering his body and hiding the remains in a concrete-filled barrel on a trailer at a farm near Barnsley. Richard Dyson, 55, disappeared in November 2019 and his remains were not discovered for nearly six years.
Christopher Wright, 73, was convicted last month at Sheffield Crown Court of murder after a trial that heard he killed Dyson when he tried to steal a gun from him. The court also heard Wright later disposed of the body with the help of his childhood friend Karl Schwalbe, 72, who was jailed for three years for perverting the course of justice.
Last month, Wright, a former butcher, was also found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the justice, preventing a lawful burial and six firearms offences. The case centred on the disappearance of Dyson in 2019 and the discovery of his remains in 2025.
Dyson's daughter, Bethany Dainty, said her life had become a
"living nightmare". She had made numerous appeals for help tracing her father during the years he was missing, and in a victim impact statement read to the court she said:
"Someone watched me suffering for years and said nothing. That level of cruelty is impossible for me to understand."
The court previously heard Dyson had been living in his car outside Wright's cottage on Sheffield Road in Hoyland, and often helped him with jobs such as cutting hedges, mending tractors and driving him to appointments. Jurors were told Wright was a
"weapons fanatic"and
"a collector", who owned several vintage firearms, old farm machinery and musical instruments.
Dyson's ex-partner said he had found a machine gun at Wright's farm several months before his disappearance and kept it because it was
"worth a lot of money". Prosecutors said Wright became
"greatly angered"when he learned of the theft and killed Dyson
"with a shotgun immediately to hand".
The last call from Dyson's phone was made on 17 November 2019 and he was reported missing. Wright and Schwalbe, of Dike Hill, Low Harley, in Rotherham, were interviewed by police in the months after but denied knowing what had happened.
The trial heard Wright had enlisted the help of Schwalbe, his childhood friend, to help him hide Dyson's body. In July 2025, a review of mobile phone data uncovered that Wright had called the owner of nearby Alderthwaite Farm in Hoyland three days after Dyson disappeared.
Farmer Ian Ollerenshaw told the court Wright had asked if he could store a livestock trailer on his land while he was
"tidying up"his own farm, and noted the events of that day in his diary. Ollerenshaw, who like Wright was a tenant of the Wentworth Estate, said the trailer was towed onto his land by a Fordson vintage tractor, but that he did not look inside it once it was parked.
Dyson's body was later discovered in a concrete-filled barrel inside the padlocked trailer alongside Wright's ID.
What happened at Sheffield Crown Court?
Sheffield Crown Court heard that Christopher Wright shot Richard Dyson after Dyson tried to steal a gun from him, then dismembered and concealed the body. The court also heard that Wright was assisted by Karl Schwalbe when hiding the remains.
Who else was convicted?
Karl Schwalbe, 72, of Dike Hill, Low Harley, in Rotherham, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and jailed for three years. Wright was also convicted of conspiracy to pervert the justice, preventing a lawful burial and six firearms offences.
How was Richard Dyson found?
Dyson disappeared in November 2019 after the last call from his phone was made on 17 November 2019. His remains were not found until 2025, inside a concrete-filled barrel in a padlocked trailer on a farm near Barnsley, alongside Wright's ID.
What did the family say?
Bethany Dainty said her life had become a
"living nightmare"and told the court:
"Someone watched me suffering for years and said nothing. That level of cruelty is impossible for me to understand."
Key Facts
- Christopher Wright, 73, was jailed for 35 years.
- Richard Dyson, 55, disappeared in November 2019.
- His remains were found in 2025 in a concrete-filled barrel inside a trailer near Barnsley.
- Karl Schwalbe, 72, was jailed for three years for perverting the course of justice.
- Wright was also convicted of conspiracy to pervert justice, preventing a lawful burial and six firearms offences.
