Wright, Melanie

Melanie Wright was convicted on 27 November 2020 at Peterborough Crown Court of the murder of her husband Nigel Wright. She received a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years. 

Mr Wright had been found dead in May 2020 in the flat he shared with his wife and their lodger, Barry Chapman. He had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.  

Mr Chapman was also charged and convicted of murder. The prosecution alleged that Mr Chapman had been the main assailant, but that Ms Wright had joined in, with the same intention to cause at least serious harm. 

Ms Wright’s application for leave to appeal was abandoned and the CCRC received an application for review of the conviction and sentence in August 2021.  

During the review, the CCRC considered new evidence that impacted the credibility of a prosecution witness. The evidence of this witness had been important to the case against Ms Wright at trial.  

In the context of the case, the witness’s account might reasonably have affected the jury’s decision on whether it could be sure that Ms Wright was guilty of murder. 

In these circumstances, the CCRC decided that there was a real possibility the Court of Appeal would find Ms Wright’s conviction unsafe.  

The CCRC referred the conviction in June 2025.