Woman and Lover Sentenced to 19 Years for Murder Plot

A woman and her lover have been sentenced to 19 years in prison each for conspiring to murder her husband in a plot aimed at claiming his life insurance payout, following a failed armed attack at the couple's holiday caravan in Wales.

Michelle Mills, 46, from Llangennech near Llanelli, and Geraint Berry, 47, from Clydach near Swansea, were convicted at Swansea Crown Court after a jury heard evidence of their three-month affair and detailed discussions about killing Christopher Mills, 48, a former soldier. The attack occurred on September 20, 2023, at a static caravan the couple shared in Cenarth, Carmarthenshire. Berry recruited Steven Thomas, also 47, from Blaengwynfi in the Afan Valley, to assist in the assault, which involved a staged break-in using imitation firearms and other items intended to make the death appear as a suicide.

Prosecutors presented more than 2,300 text messages between Mills and Berry outlining various methods to kill Mr. Mills, including smothering him with a pillow, poisoning his food with foxgloves or antifreeze, or lacing his drink with sleeping pills. The pair assembled a kit containing gas masks with filter canisters, cable ties, pliers, balaclavas,...