In a pair of chilling cases unfolding across two continents, police and prosecutors are unraveling the tangled motives and relationships behind alleged murder plots—one in the heart of rural India, the other in the quiet countryside of Wales. While the details differ, both stories reveal the dark power of jealousy, betrayal, and the lengths to which some will go to resolve personal conflict.
On October 15, 2025, the usually tranquil railway tracks near Amravati, India, became the scene of a crime that initially looked like a tragic accident. Early that morning, a 26-year-old woman, whose name has not been released publicly, was found dead on the rails. At first, police suspected she had been struck and killed by a passing train. But when doctors examined her body, they noticed something didn’t add up—strangulation marks on her neck. The postmortem report quickly dispelled any notion of suicide or accident, pointing instead to foul play.
According to reporting from local authorities, the investigation was led by Vishal Anand, superintendent of police, and his team, including Mulchand Bhamburkar, PSI. The deceased woman’s brother had filed a complaint after she went missing from his home, where she had been staying due to ongoing marital disputes. When the police began to dig deeper, they discovered a tangled web of relationships and motives.
Informants tipped investigators off to a possible connection between the victim and Shubham Hatwar, 28, a resident of Dangripura in Chandur Railway. Under questioning, Shubham initially dodged and weaved, but eventually, as the police pressed on, he confessed to a shocking scheme. Shubham admitted that he and his wife, Pooja, had conspired to murder the woman. The motive? The victim, with whom Shubham had reportedly been having an extramarital affair, had been pressuring him to leave his wife and marry her. This insistence, according to the police, had become a major source of tension in Shubham’s married life.
As the investigation unfolded, the details came to light. Shubham and Pooja lured the woman to their home, strangled her, and then transported her body to the railway tracks in an attempt to disguise the murder as a train accident. The operation was carried out with chilling precision, but the ruse quickly fell apart under forensic scrutiny and police questioning. The case, as reported by local sources, was registered under Section 194(B) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and both Shubham and Pooja were arrested. The investigation team, which included officers Amol Deshmukh, Sachin Mishra, Mangesh Lakde, Sachin Masange, Dinesh Kanojia, and Manoj Ghavle, worked under the guidance of several senior officials to bring the truth to light.
Meanwhile, in the rolling hills of Carmarthenshire, Wales, a very different but equally disturbing drama was playing out in the courts. In September 2024, Christopher Mills was attacked at the caravan he shared with his wife in Cenarth. The attackers—two masked men armed with guns, gloves, and cable ties—left him shaken but alive. What followed was a sprawling investigation that quickly focused on Mills’s wife, Ethel Mills (known as Michelle), age 46, and two men: Geraint Berry, 46, and Steven Thomas, 47.
According to BBC News, prosecutors allege that Mrs. Mills and Mr. Berry had been engaged in a secret three-month affair, during which they exchanged fantasies about killing Christopher Mills. In court, Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Mr. Berry had "repeatedly made clear his intention to kill" in text messages to Mrs. Mills—messages that became "increasingly explicit." In fact, Mr. Berry is said to have expressed this intention 16 times over text. Mrs. Mills, for her part, claimed these were nothing more than "fantasy and escape from reality." She denied feeding her lover lies about her husband’s behavior, including claims of sexual abuse.
The prosecution, however, painted a different picture, arguing that "all three entered an agreement to kill Christopher Mills." The court heard that Mrs. Mills did not call the police until after the attackers had left the caravan. When questioned about this, she said she had been trying to get a signal on her phone. In a text to Mr. Berry after the attack, Mrs. Mills wrote: "I know who was with you, Chris didn't recognise you." She told the jury, "I was hoping he would text me back saying that it wasn't them. I didn't believe it was them; I didn't want to believe it was them. Geraint wouldn't kill anyone."
Mrs. Mills also denied being a "highly intelligent person," stating she had left school at the age of 11. She insisted that she "never believed" her lover or his accomplice would actually go through with any plan to kill her husband. The defense, led by David Elias KC for Mr. Berry, argued that Berry was merely "a fantasist" and that the "only plan was to frighten, to scare" Christopher Mills on the night in question. Steven Thomas was described as "vulnerable" and "influenced by Mr. Berry." All three defendants have denied the charges of conspiracy to murder, and Mrs. Mills also faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice by deleting messages and giving a false account to police. The trial, as of October 16, 2025, was ongoing.
Both cases—one in Amravati, the other in Carmarthenshire—underscore the complex interplay of human emotion, secrecy, and the sometimes tragic consequences of personal entanglements. In India, the investigation’s swift unraveling of a staged accident exposed a calculated murder, driven by jealousy and the pressure of an illicit relationship. In Wales, a courtroom drama continues to play out, with the prosecution and defense offering starkly different interpretations of the evidence and the defendants’ intentions. The stories are reminders that beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives, extraordinary and sometimes terrible events can unfold, leaving families and communities searching for answers and justice.
As the Welsh trial proceeds and the Indian case heads toward prosecution, both communities are left grappling with the aftermath of violence that, in both instances, began with the bonds of love but ended in betrayal and tragedy.