Christopher Wright, 73, has been jailed for 35 years after being convicted of murdering his lodger, Richard Dyson, whose remains were found in 2025 in a concrete-filled barrel on farmland near Barnsley. Wright was also convicted of multiple offences including firearms charges and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice; his friend Karl Schwalbe received a three-year sentence for helping conceal the body. The discovery followed a review of mobile phone data and testimony linking a padlocked trailer to Wright's farm.
Farmer Jailed for 35 Years After Lodger's Remains Found in Concrete-Filled Barrel
Richard Dyson went missing in 2019 and his remains were discovered in 2025 [South Yorkshire Police]
A 73-year-old farmer has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury found he shot his lodger and hid the victim's remains in a concrete-filled barrel stored on farmland near Barnsley.
Richard Dyson, 55, went missing in November 2019. His remains were not recovered until 2025, when investigators discovered a padlocked trailer on farmland containing a concrete-filled barrel and the victim's identification.
At Sheffield Crown Court, jurors heard that Christopher Wright killed Dyson after discovering the lodger had taken a machine gun from the farm. Prosecutors said Wright, a former butcher, then dismembered the body with the assistance of his childhood friend, Karl Schwalbe.
Wright, 73, was convicted of murder and also found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, preventing a lawful burial and six firearms offences. He was given a 35-year sentence. Schwalbe, 72, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to three years in prison.
"You had worked as a butcher and were skilled enough to do such a terrible thing, something few ordinary people would have the stomach for," Mr Justice Cotter told Wright when passing sentence.
Dyson had been living in his car outside Wright's cottage on Sheffield Road in Hoyland and helped with farm tasks including cutting hedges, mending tractors and driving Wright to appointments. The trial heard Wright was a collector of vintage firearms and that Dyson had previously found and kept a machine gun from the farm, which prosecutors say angered Wright.
Mobile phone data examined in 2025 showed Wright phoned a neighbouring farmer three days after Dyson's disappearance. Farmer Ian Ollerenshaw told the court Wright asked to store a livestock trailer on his land at Alderthwaite Farm while he was "tidying up". Ollerenshaw, a fellow tenant of the Wentworth Estate, noted the event in his diary and said the trailer had been towed onto his land by a Fordson vintage tractor; he had not looked inside.
The victim's remains were later discovered in a concrete-filled barrel inside the padlocked trailer, alongside Wright's identification. Both Wright and Schwalbe had denied involvement when interviewed by police in the months after Dyson went missing.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles of South Yorkshire Police praised the victim's family for their resilience, describing the two-decade-long investigation as "long, complex and emotionally draining." He said the defendants' denials had forced the family to endure a difficult trial but commended their strength and dignity throughout the process.
Sentences
Christopher Wright — 35 years for murder and related offences.
Karl Schwalbe — 3 years for perverting the course of justice.
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