A WOMAN and her lover have been jailed after conspiring to murder her husband of ten years so they could continue their affair.

Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry, both aged 46, were each sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment at Swansea Crown Court after a jury found them guilty of plotting to kill Christopher Mills in a plan intended to make his death appear as a suicide.

The conspiracy was uncovered after Mr Mills, 55, an ex-serviceman, fought back during a late-night ambush at a caravan the couple were staying in at Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, on Friday, September 20, 2024.

Berry, assisted by Steven Thomas, forced entry into the caravan armed with imitation firearms, gas masks and cable ties. A pre-prepared suicide note falsely purporting to have been written by Mr Mills was later recovered by police.

The attack failed when Mr Mills defended himself, managing to disarm the intruders and forcing them to flee on foot.

Armed response officers, police dog units and the National Police Air Service were deployed. Berry and Thomas were arrested shortly afterwards after being spotted hiding in bushes by a police helicopter.

The incident was initially reported to Dyfed-Powys Police by Michelle Mills, who claimed to be unaware of any motive for her husband to be targeted. At first, officers treated the matter as an aggravated burglary.

However, detectives quickly became suspicious.

Detective Inspector Sam Gregory, of Ceredigion CID said: “We had a report of two masked men attempting to gain access to a caravan and assaulting the owner. On the surface, it appeared the case would be fairly straightforward.

“However, when Berry and Thomas were searched, officers found gas masks, imitation firearms and, most disturbingly, a typed suicide note said to have been written by Christopher Mills.”

The investigation was escalated to CID, where digital forensic enquiries uncovered extensive communication between Mrs Mills and Berry revealing a long-running affair and detailed plans to murder her husband.

Messages exchanged from August 2024 onwards showed the pair discussing multiple methods of killing Mr Mills, including suffocating him while he slept, overdosing him on sleeping tablets, poisoning his food with antifreeze or foxglove, and staging an explosion in his car.

Berry also contacted an associate asking how to obtain a firearm with a suppressor and how to make a vehicle explode when the ignition was started.

The court heard there were two aborted attempts to ambush Mr Mills at the caravan on August 28 and 29, with Berry injuring his knee during one failed attempt.

On the third attempt, Mrs Mills told Berry she would encourage her husband to drink alcohol so he would fall asleep. Messages showed Berry informing her he had arrived at the holiday park moments before the attackers burst into the caravan.

Immediately after the men fled, Mrs Mills sent Berry messages urging him to escape, delete communications and expressing affection, despite her husband having just been assaulted.

Mrs Mills was later arrested at her home in Maes Ty Gwyn, Llwynhendy. Despite denying involvement, she told an arresting officer she would be “going to jail for this”.

DI Gregory said: “From start to finish, Mrs Mills denied any involvement. She initially claimed she did not know the attackers, and later said she believed the messages were just fantasy.

“At no point did she attempt to stop Berry or tell him she did not want the plans to go ahead. Her only concern was not getting caught.”

Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Nicklin said the plot involved “significant planning and premeditation”, despite being “poorly executed”, and placed Mr Mills’ life at genuine risk.

The court heard victim impact evidence describing how the attack had “pretty much ruined” Mr Mills’ life, leaving him suffering flashbacks and long-term psychological harm.

Mrs Mills was also sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for perverting the course of justice, to be served concurrently with her 19-year sentence. Berry received a concurrent 18-month sentence for possession of an imitation firearm.

Steven Thomas, aged 47, of Clos Coffa, Clydach, was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder but had previously admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause Christopher Mills to believe unlawful violence would be used against him. He was sentenced to 12 months in custody, with time already served on remand taken into account.

The judge said there had been an element of coercion or exploitation by Berry in relation to Thomas, who expressed remorse for his actions.

DI Gregory added: “It is easy to focus on the dramatic details of this case and forget there is a real victim. Mr Mills’ life was genuinely at risk, and the person he should have been able to trust the most was behind the plot.

“He has shown remarkable strength and courage throughout this investigation, and I hope he can now move forward and begin to process what he has endured.

“Despite their claims that this was fantasy, the evidence showed the conspiracy was real, calculated and repeated. Mills and Berry showed no remorse for the devastation they caused.”