In a shocking tale of betrayal, violence, and a botched murder plot, Michelle Mills and her lover Geraint Berry have been sentenced to 19 years in prison each after conspiring to kill Mills’ husband, Christopher Mills, in a caravan attack that stunned a quiet corner of southwest Wales. The dramatic events, which unfolded on the night of September 20, 2024, in the rural village of Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, were the culmination of months of secret planning, digital scheming, and ultimately, a failed attempt to mask murder as suicide.
According to Sky News and corroborated by BBC News, the plot began to take shape after Michelle Mills, 46, and Geraint Berry, also 46 and a former Royal Marine, began an affair while working together at a homeless charity for veterans. Within weeks, their relationship took a dark turn as they began discussing, via text messages, elaborate ways to kill Christopher Mills. These included poisoning him with sleeping tablets or antifreeze, suffocating him in his sleep, and even making his Mini Cooper explode upon ignition. The chilling reality of their intentions was laid bare in one exchange where Berry told Mills he was meeting with some “boys” to plan “what they are going to do with him,” to which Mills replied, “Yes, lovely, thank you.”
Berry, who took the lead in orchestrating the attack, recruited Steven Thomas, 47, to assist. Thomas, described in court as playing a subordinate role and acting under some degree of coercion, would later be acquitted of conspiracy to murder but sentenced to 12 months for possession of a firearm used in the attack—a sentence he has already served on remand.
The night of the attack was harrowing. Christopher Mills, 55, and his wife were spending a quiet evening together in their static caravan, listening to music after dinner. Unbeknownst to him, his wife was not idly playing a game on her phone, as he assumed, but was in communication with her lover. Suddenly, two masked men—Berry and Thomas—burst in, armed with imitation handguns, gas masks, pliers, cable ties, and a rucksack containing a fake suicide note purportedly written by Mr. Mills. As Christopher Mills recounted in court, “As I opened the door, he literally hit me right in the face with a pistol, ‘Get back, get down’ he was saying. I punched him in his face. I pulled his pistol off of him. He was dressed in overalls, with balaclavas. He was a lot bigger than me.”
Despite being badly beaten, Mr. Mills managed to fight off both attackers, wrestling their guns from them. Berry and Thomas fled the scene, only to find their car blocked and their escape route cut off. They eventually hid in undergrowth near a quarry, but a police helicopter equipped with heat-seeking cameras quickly located them. Both men were arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary, but the police soon uncovered the far more sinister intent behind their actions.
Back at the caravan, Michelle Mills called 999, reporting that her husband had suffered a head injury and claiming ignorance of the masked men. However, police officers arriving at the scene found evidence that pointed directly to her involvement: gas masks, balaclavas, cable ties, and the fake suicide note. Digital forensics soon revealed a trove of incriminating messages between Mills and Berry, exposing the full scope of their murderous plans. According to The Independent, Mills deleted her messages after the attack, but Berry had not, leaving a digital trail that proved damning in court.
Detective Inspector Sam Gregory of Dyfed-Powys Police explained, “Berry and Mills had previously discussed using gas to kill Mr Mills, while making it look like he had taken his own life. Berry had asked Mills where the boiler was, and he and Thomas carried gas masks that would have protected themselves while Mr Mills suffocated. No explanation has been given by any of the three defendants for the fake suicide note or the gas masks in the rucksack. What’s clear is that these were not being used to frighten Mr Mills—they were there to set up a fake suicide.”
The trial at Swansea Crown Court in October 2025 laid bare the extent of the planning and premeditation. Judge Mr Justice Nicklin KC, in sentencing, told Berry, “You devised the plan and led its execution. You recruited Steven Thomas to assist you and while intoxicated, you equipped yourself with items that demonstrated your intention to kill Mr Mills and make it appear to be a suicide. However incompetent the plan was and how unlikely it was to be achieved, your intention was to kill.” Addressing Michelle Mills, the judge added, “The evidence strongly suggests in the weeks leading up to the incident, you cultivated and exploited Geraint Berry’s animosity towards your husband and encouraged him to find a way to get rid of your husband, not in fantasy but reality.”
Both Mills and Berry were found guilty of conspiracy to murder. Mills was also convicted of perverting the course of justice, for which she received an 18-month sentence to be served concurrently with her 19-year term. Berry received an additional 18-month sentence for possession of an imitation firearm, also concurrent. Thomas, whose involvement was deemed less central, was released after serving his time on remand.
The fallout for Christopher Mills has been severe. In court, his barrister described how the attack had “pretty much ruined his life” and left him suffering from flashbacks and trauma. The judge praised Mr. Mills’ “remarkable fortitude and courage” in fighting off his attackers, an act that almost certainly saved his life.
The case has captured public attention not just for its lurid details—a love affair turned murderous, a plot involving gas masks and fake suicide notes—but also for the chillingly methodical nature of the planning and the cold detachment of the conspirators. As police pieced together the evidence, it became clear that Mills and Berry’s only concern was not getting caught, rather than any remorse for the pain and devastation they had caused.
While the plan was ultimately foiled by Christopher Mills’ resilience and quick thinking, the scars—both physical and emotional—will linger. The sentences handed down reflect the gravity of the crime and the court’s determination to send a clear message: such calculated betrayal and violence will be met with the full force of the law.
The caravan at Cenarth, once a quiet retreat, now stands as a stark reminder of how a web of deceit and malice can unravel—even in the most tranquil of settings.
