Masked gunmen and poisoned gravy – how my wife plotted to kill me

When two armed men in balaclavas tried to murder Christopher Mills in the idyllic countryside caravan he shared with his wife, he fought for his life – and to protect the woman he loved.

He was bludgeoned with a gun in the brutal attack, which lasted just minutes, before the men ran off into the night.

But in the days that followed that botched raid in the village of Cenarth, Camarthenshire, Christopher learned his wife, Michelle, was behind the plot to kill him.

She and her secret lover, Geraint Berry, wanted him dead so they could start a new life together.

“It’s like a film script,” said Christopher, a 55-year-old Army veteran. “I just didn’t connect that my wife was involved in it.”

Michelle Mills, from Llangennech, Carmartheshire, and ex-marine Berry, both 46, of Clydach, Swansea are each starting sentences of 19 years for the plot in September 2024.

She and Berry, who met through work at a homeless charity for veterans, had exchanged messages during their three-month affair about smothering Christopher with a pillow or poisoning him with antifreeze in his gravy.

They were both found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a trial at Swansea Crown Court.

A second man, Steven Thomas, 47, from Blaengwynfi in Neath Port Talbot, was cleared of the conspiracy to murder charge but was sentenced to 12 months for carrying an imitation firearm.

The court was told he had been recruited by Berry for the mission, which was intended to make it look as if Christopher had killed himself.

The case was described by police as “like a TV drama”, but for Christopher it was horribly real.

He had thought his marriage was happy before the attack at their caravan on 20 September 2024.

“Everything was hunky dory,” he said.

“We’d been together about 10 years, married for six. Everything was nice.”

Although he had noticed she had become “colder” and “more distant” that summer, he would never have imagined what would come next.

“When I was fighting with those two men in the caravan, I was fighting for me and Michelle,” he said.

“I thought it was an armed robbery. But then to find out that she’d instigated it, it’s terrible.

“I never thought she’d be capable of something like that.”

On the night of the attack, Christopher and Michelle Mills were getting ready for bed when there was a knock on the caravan door at 23:30 BST.

“I opened [it] and I was met with a masked man,” he said.

“He just hit me straight in the face with a gun. Big, heavy, metal thing. It was like being hit with a hammer.

“I fought back. And then they both ran off. I was shocked.”

In the 999 call made by Mills, her husband could be heard asking for an “immediate armed response”.

“I’m ex-forces,” he said. “I’ve taken the guns off them. They might still be here. It’s pitch black here.”

The owner of Argoed Meadow caravan park, Rita Owens, was soon at the scene “in panic”.

“When I went down there, [Christopher] was badly beaten, full of blood,” she said.

Mrs Owens said she asked Michelle Mills what had happened but she “shrugged her shoulders” and was “busy texting”.

She added: “They were a happily married couple, I thought, but no.”

Armed police arrived after 40 minutes and a helicopter found Berry and Thomas hiding in undergrowth in a nearby quarry.

They had gas masks and cable ties in their bag, and Berry carried a fake suicide note supposedly written by Christopher to his wife.

It wasn’t until the following day, when Christopher was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence based on false allegations made by his wife, that he realised she was part of it.

“It was at that point, that exact second, I just knew then that Michelle was involved,” he said.

“I’ve never committed domestic violence on anybody, especially not Michelle. My heart just sank. I just thought ‘this is crazy’.”

Police told him his wife had been having an affair and had been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to murder him.

“I was devastated. It was completely out of the blue,” he said.

“I only noticed a change in June 2024 when she became a bit more distant, a bit colder.”

When Christopher had asked his wife if everything was OK, she blamed work and reassured him that their relationship was fine.

Christopher saw his wife for the first time since she was arrested in the dock during the trial in October.

He gave evidence, and sat in the public gallery every day.

“She didn’t look like the Michelle I knew,” he said.

“She lied, she was lying through her teeth in that courtroom.”

Mills told the jury she believed the plot was a “fantasy” and an “escape from reality” because her husband was “controlling”.

Christopher added: “By that point, I totally fell out of love with Michelle.

“I could never forgive her for what she’s done. It’s just a nightmare and it’s never-ending.”

Christopher said he wanted a divorce, but that any progress was difficult with his wife in prison.

“I hardly sleep at all. I don’t go out on my own,” he said.

“I’ll just be glad when I can close the book on that. But it’s going to be a long time yet.”

The jury was shown more than 100 pages of texts between Mills and Berry.

He said in one: “We will watch him die and then come home and chill for the rest of the weekend together and just wait for someone to find him.”

In the hours before the assault, Mills told Berry: “Sorry u know what ur doing, and I trust you.”

Her final message after the attack was: “Police have been called, delete all communications, I love you…”

Det Insp Sam Gregory, of Dyfed-Powys Police, described it as a “complex” investigation.

“One minute you think you’re investigating one offence, but the next, it’s developed into the most serious offence,” she said.

“The plot’s twist and turns are like a TV drama, but ultimately, Mr Mills has been at the heart of this investigation, which could have had potentially fatal consequences.”

She said this sort of crime “does not happen” in rural west Wales and added: “It was just such a serious matter. It was real.”