A woman and her secret lover have each been handed 19-year prison sentences for a chilling conspiracy to murder her husband and disguise the killing as a suicide.
The Failed Caravan Attack
Michelle Mills, 46, and Geraint Berry, 46, were convicted of conspiracy to murder following a trial at Swansea Crown Court in October. Their plan unravelled on 20 September last year when Mr Mills was attacked in his static caravan in Cenarth, Ceredigion.
Despite being set upon by two masked men armed with imitation firearms, Christopher Mills showed what the judge later called "remarkable fortitude and courage" by fighting off his assailants. The attackers, who were later identified as Berry and an associate, Steven Thomas, fled the scene.
Sinister Evidence Uncovered
Michelle Mills called emergency services, claiming her husband had suffered a head injury and that she did not know the armed intruders. However, a police helicopter soon located Berry and Thomas hiding in undergrowth.
A search revealed a cache of disturbing items that exposed the plot's true intent. Officers found:
- Gas masks
- Imitation firearms
- A typed fake suicide note, purportedly written by the victim
- Pliers and cable ties
Detective Inspector Sam Gregory stated the evidence pointed to a plan to gas Mr Mills. "Berry had asked Mills where the boiler was, and he and Thomas carried gas masks that would have protected themselves while Mr Mills suffocated," he said.
A Secret Affair and Murderous Plans
Digital evidence proved Mills and Berry—a former Royal Marine—had been involved in a clandestine three-month relationship. Their messages revealed they had discussed multiple ways to kill Mr Mills, including:
- Using sleeping tablets
- Suffocating him in his sleep
- Poisoning him with antifreeze
Berry had also researched how to make the victim's Mini car explode upon starting. In one damning exchange, when Berry told Mills he was meeting with "boys" to plan "what they are going to do with him," she replied: "Yes, lovely, thank you."
Sentencing the pair on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin KC said they had shown no remorse and were only concerned with avoiding capture. He told Berry, "You devised the plan and led its execution," and told Michelle Mills she had "cultivated and exploited" Berry's animosity towards her husband.
A third defendant, Steven Thomas, 47, was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder but pleaded guilty to a firearms charge. He was sentenced to 12 months but was released immediately due to time already served on remand.
The judge concluded that, however incompetent the plan may have been, the pair's intention to kill was unequivocal. The victim, who believed he was in a happy decade-long marriage, was completely unaware of his wife's deadly intentions.
