A Welsh woman and her lover were found guilty of plotting to kill her husband in order to continue their relationship.
Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry were convicted guilty of conspiracy to murder on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Swansea Crown Court, according to Dyfed-Powys police. This came after a two-week trial in which “the court heard that Mills and Berry intended to murder Mills’ husband and make it look like a suicide,” according to the release.
Steven Thomas, a third defendant, was found not guilty of the same allegation, but police said he had previously pleaded to a weapons charge.
Mills called police on September 20, 2024, to tell that her husband, Christopher Mills, had been attacked by two masked men who broke into their mobile home, according to investigators. Christopher was severely battered by the two males, later identified as Berry and Thomas, but he managed to fend off the attackers, who fled the area.
Berry, 46, and Thomas, 47, were detained after being discovered hiding in the undergrowth near the site.
According to investigators, when searching the two suspects, officers discovered gas masks and a phony suicide letter addressed to Mills that claimed to be from her husband.
Mills denied knowing why anyone would harm her husband, but investigators later determined she was involved in the scheme.
Berry and Mills had been dating for around three months before the crime, according to authorities, and text messages between the two suggested they began discussing various ways to kill him.
“In a short period of time, Berry, encouraged by Mills, became increasingly occupied by hostile thoughts about her husband, and the pair had communicated a number of ways in which they could kill him,” Detective Inspector Sam Gregory said.
According to Gregory, Mills claimed that the chats were only a fantasy and would never be carried out.
The texts also indicated that two previous plans to visit the mobile home were cancelled prior to the Sept. 20 incident.
After the two men fled the scene, authorities said Mills texted Berry to delete all messages. “Police have been called, please leave and delete all communications…” Please use both phones. Mills wrote, “I love you,” according to authorities.
According to police, after Mills was detained, she stated, “I’m going to prison for this, aren’t I?”
Following the verdict on Tuesday, Gregory praised all who worked on the inquiry and gathered evidence to secure the convictions.
“Mills and Barry had plotted not one, not two, but three attempts to assassinate Mr. Mills, and I have no doubt that they would have continued to devise these plans if they hadn’t been apprehended that night… “They will now bear the consequences of their actions,” he stated.
Mills, Berry, and Thomas are scheduled to be sentenced on December 19.
