News

Wife and lover jailed for plot to murder husband to continue affair

Published

5 months ago

December 19, 2025

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.

***Geraint Berry, during his arrest – from police video***

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.”

News

Parties make final push as Wales prepares to vote in historic Senedd election

Published

18 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Campaign leaders criss-cross country in last-minute battle for crucial votes

WALES heads to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) after a frenetic final day of campaigning that saw party leaders, candidates and activists make one last push to win over undecided voters in what is being described as the most unpredictable Senedd election in modern Welsh history.

With polling stations due to open at 7:00am, parties spent Wednesday targeting key battleground constituencies across the country, including the new Ceredigion Penfro seat, amid growing expectations of a fragmented Senedd and a dramatic shake-up in Welsh politics.

The election is the first to be held under Wales’ new expanded Senedd system, with 96 Members of the Senedd being elected across 16 large constituencies using a proportional closed-list voting system.

Reform UK appeared to finish the campaign with significant momentum following a major rally on Tuesday attended by party leader Nigel Farage. The event drew large crowds and considerable online attention as Reform attempted to convert strong polling figures into seats in Cardiff Bay for the first time.

Farage used the rally to attack both Labour and Plaid Cymru, while positioning Reform as the party of “change” for disillusioned voters. Reform campaigners have focused heavily on immigration, cost of living pressures and opposition to what they describe as “wasteful government spending.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth spent the final day presenting his party as the main alternative to both Labour and Reform UK, insisting Plaid could “build a fairer Wales” while warning against what he described as “divisive politics.”

Labour figures, including First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader Huw Irranca-Davies, urged voters not to “take risks” with public services, arguing only Welsh Labour could protect the NHS and local councils during a period of economic uncertainty.

Labour activists were heavily focused on turnout operations in traditional strongholds, amid polling suggesting the party could lose ground after decades as the dominant force in Welsh politics.

The Conservatives attempted to rally core voters with warnings about both Labour and Reform, while also focusing on farming, the rural economy and healthcare waiting lists.

In west Wales, Conservative candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz spent the day meeting voters and carrying out final campaign visits across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, arguing their experience and local knowledge would be important under the new electoral system.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party also maintained visible campaigns in several areas, hoping tactical voting and the proportional voting system could help them secure representation.

Across Wales, campaign teams handed out leaflets outside transport hubs, supermarkets and town centres, while social media campaigning intensified throughout the day.

Political analysts believe turnout could prove decisive, particularly because the new voting system means relatively small shifts in support could determine the allocation of the fifth and sixth seats in many constituencies.

The campaign has been dominated by debates over the NHS, farming, the economy, transport, tourism and the rising cost of living, alongside concerns about the future direction of Welsh devolution.

Polling stations open across Wales from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday, with counting due to begin on Friday morning.

The Herald will provide live election coverage online throughout polling day and count day, including updates from count centres, candidate interviews and reaction as results emerge from across west Wales and the rest of the country.

News

Plaid Cymru projected to lead Senedd as Labour faces historic collapse

Published

18 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final poll suggests Welsh politics could be on the brink of a major realignment

PLAID CYMRU is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, according to the final YouGov MRP projection for ITV Cymru Wales before polling day.

The model suggests Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh elections could be coming to an end, with Plaid projected to win 43 seats in the newly expanded 96-member Senedd.

Reform UK is forecast to finish second on 34 seats, while Labour is projected to fall to just 12.

The poll, based on responses from more than 4,600 adults between April 25 and May 4, puts Plaid Cymru on 33% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 29%. Labour is on 12%, the Conservatives on 9%, the Greens on 8% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Labour facing major losses

The projection points to a dramatic collapse in Labour support across Wales.

YouGov’s central estimate would represent a notional loss of 32 seats for Labour compared with the 2021 result under the new electoral system.

It would also be Labour’s worst result at any major Welsh election since 1906.

The model suggests Labour may fail to top the poll in any of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, and could return no members at all in four of them.

In west Wales, Labour’s support is projected to have fallen into single figures in some areas.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who leads Labour’s list in Ceredigion Penfro, could also be at risk if the projection proves accurate.

Reform surge

Reform UK is projected to make major gains, rising from just 1% of the vote in 2021 to 29% in the final pre-election model.

The party’s support appears to be spread widely across Wales, though it is weaker in Cardiff and strongest in parts of the south Wales valleys.

One of the most striking projections is in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, which includes the Merthyr Tydfil area where Keir Hardie was elected as Wales’s first Labour MP in 1900.

There, YouGov’s central estimate puts Reform UK narrowly ahead on 34%, Plaid Cymru on 33%, and Labour on 14%.

Smaller parties

The Conservatives are projected to win just four seats, which would be their weakest devolved election result.

That would leave them one short of the five members needed to form an official political group in the Senedd.

The Greens are forecast to enter the Senedd for the first time, winning two seats in Cardiff.

The Liberal Democrats are projected to win one seat in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, keeping Jane Dodds in the Senedd.

No majority expected

No party is projected to win the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.

YouGov’s modelling suggests Plaid Cymru would be best placed to lead the next Welsh Government, but would probably need support from another party.

Plaid and Labour together reach a majority in most of the model’s simulations, while a Plaid-Green arrangement does so far less often.

A Reform-Conservative majority appears unlikely in the projection.

Under the new D’Hondt voting system, small movements in vote share could still make a significant difference, particularly for the final seats in each constituency.

Polling stations open tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.