Farmer strangled 82-year-old dad and buried him on family land after row over being ‘cut out of will’

A FARMER strangled his dad to death and buried him in a shallow grave on family land after fearing he would be “cut out of the will”.

Charles Wright, 52, had , over the future of Hall Farm in Nottinghamshire before he throttled him on November 20, 2025.

Two days later, Wright and his body was found in an outbuilding area on Hall Farm in a “tragic” sequence of events.

In a voice note, Wright had said Brian was “thinking of replacing him” and giving the “lion’s share” to another relative.

It continued: “I just had a flash of red and after 25 years and everything I have given him, he was just cutting me out like that.

“I just saw red, dragged him out of the car and throttled him.”

Wright then said he intended to take his own life.

The haunting recording was sent to on November 22, two days after his dad was reported missing after failing to show up for his wife’s hospital appointment.

At an inquest at Nottingham Coroner’s Court, Senior Coroner Mairin Casey said: “The of this, I’m clear in my mind, will have affected all of those who have survived in a very deep and painful way.”

The court heard that Brian – a churchwarden at St Bartholomew’s Church – had called his son “useless”, “not capable of ” and that it was a “mistake to let him farm that land”.

Locals previously described the 82-year-old as a “lovely man” who fundraised for the local church.

Describing the recording, Detective Chief Inspector Ruby Burrow said: “Charles stated that he had killed his father and intended to kill himself.

“He described that his father Brian had criticised him and there had been a disagreement about finances.

“He stated he had buried his father Brian on the family farm.”

The churchwarden had been reported missing shortly before midnight on November 20.

The next day, Wright, his brother James and a mechanic at the farm spoke to DCI Burrow about Brian.

Wright told the cop about “difficult family dynamics” and strained relations, including issues around finances, the inquest heard.

“He described an argument he had had with his father. He described his father had been critical towards him and he, himself, had taken some time to calm down,” said DCI Burrow.

Brian was said to have “left in the opposite direction” after a small row between him and Wright.

Later that day, the churchwarden’s vehicle was found in an unusual place, sparking panic about his whereabouts.

DCI Burrow added that a collision had occurred on November 22 involving a “vehicle and two gentlemen”, where the driver colliding with them “apparently deliberately”.

She said that Wright had aimed at his brother, who was running with a friend, and “caused injury”.

Wright ended his life the next day while Brian’s body was found in a shallow grave three days later, with the cause of death given as pressure applied to the neck .

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The court also heard how there had been previous friction at the farm, with a firearms licence withdrawn from a relative.

DCI Burrow said: “The evidence shows that Charles Wright murdered his father, and that there was no third-party involvement in the death.

“The evidence showed [Charles] took his own life, and that there was no third-party involvement in that either.”

Coroner Ms Casey described it as a “truly tragic case”.

She said: “Whatever tensions there may have been leading to this tragedy, we have here the loss of two men, who were fathers to surviving children, and a grandfather.”