Farmer jailed after body found in trailer abandoned at farm

A Barnsley farmer who murdered a 55-year-old living on his land and concealed the victim’s body in a concrete-filled barrel has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years.

Christopher Wright, 73, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday 6 August after being convicted of murdering Richard Dyson.

Wright’s childhood friend, Karl Schwalbe, 72, was jailed for three years after being found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Mr Dyson had lived in vehicles on Wright’s property for several years before disappearing in November 2019.

His daughter reported him missing on 25 November, but the case remained a missing person inquiry until July 2025.

Police then discovered his remains inside a trailer Wright had left at nearby Alderthwaite Farm almost six years earlier.

The farm owner had agreed to store the trailer temporarily after Wright telephoned three days after Mr Dyson was last known to be alive.

A diary entry recorded that Wright had asked to leave it for a few days, but he never returned to collect it.

Officers searching the trailer found a blue plastic barrel filled with concrete and containing human remains.

DNA tests confirmed the remains belonged to Mr Dyson, while a name badge bearing Wright’s name was also recovered.

Prosecutors used phone records, CCTV, forensic science, firearms analysis, bank transactions and covert recordings to reconstruct the killing and cover-up.

Wright had bought materials from a local builders’ merchant between Mr Dyson’s death and the trailer being taken to Alderthwaite Farm.

Investigators also examined Wright’s firearms collection.

Expert analysis found that firearms and ammunition recovered from his home were consistent with the type used to kill Mr Dyson.

His firearms licence had been revoked in 2016, leading to additional charges.

Phone records showed Wright made two late-night calls to Schwalbe on the night of the killing.

CCTV captured Schwalbe’s Toyota Hilux travelling towards Wright’s property and leaving about an hour later.

Both men denied remembering the meeting, but covertly recorded conversations following police interviews helped prosecutors establish that Schwalbe had assisted Wright with the cover-up.

Jamie Barton, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “For six years, Richard Dyson’s loved ones were left without any answers about what had happened to him.”

He added: “Wright brutally murdered Richard Dyson, and then enlisted his lifelong friend to help cover his tracks.”

“Schwalbe may not have pulled the trigger, but his lies and actions were part of a deliberate attempt to stop justice ever being delivered.”

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles, who led the investigation, said Mr Dyson’s family had endured an “unimaginable wait for answers and clarity”.

“No verdict can erase what they have been through, but I hope it brings them a measure of clarity and the first steps towards healing,” he said.

He added: “Today, we remember Richard.”