Mother of woman murdered by husband calls for UK animal abuse register

Annette Bramley at home in Lincolnshire. ‘I didn’t think he would stop at animals,’ she says. ‘I knew the connection between animal and abuse and domestic abuse.’ Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

Annette Bramley fondly remembers her daughter Holly as being family-oriented and a lover of animals. “She adored anything small and furry, or even not. I mean, she thought orangutans were beautiful,” she said.

When Holly ended up in a controlling and abusive relationship, her husband, Nicholas Metson, was quick to use this passion against her. He bought Holly a puppy and then tried to kill it by putting it in a washing machine at their home in Lincoln. After it was rescued by Holly, he drowned it in a bath.