Michelle said the attack on her husband was random. Then police found the text messages.

The night of 20th September 2024, seemed like a regular one for Christopher Mills and his wife Ethel Mills, also known as Michelle.

The couple, from Cenarth in Wales, had just finished watching a documentary about the Titanic and were preparing for bed when they heard a knock on their caravan, Wales Online reports.

Expecting a neighbour, Mills opened the front door despite the late hour.

Instead, he was greeted by a confronting sight.

Two masked men were brandishing handguns in his direction. Before Mills could react, he was struck in the face with one of the weapons.

"Get back!" the attacker shouted.

But Mills, a former soldier, wasn't going down without a fight.

He swung back at the armed man, and the trio ended up in a tussle on the caravan floor.

Amid the fight, a desperate Mills shouted for his wife Michelle to get him a knife.

He heard no response.

Fighting for his life, Mills managed to get his hand on one of the guns and turned the weapon around on the men.

When he squeezed the trigger, it clicked but didn't fire. Still, the men were spooked and quickly fled the scene.

Battered and confused, Mills searched for Michelle. He found his wife outside, where she told him she was finding a phone signal to call the police.

Once the couple got through to the authorities, Mills apparently told them: "I'm ex-forces. I've taken the guns off them. They might still be here. It's pitch black," the BBC reports.

Multiple police units were dispatched to the scene. When they arrived, it didn't take long for them to find those responsible.

Not far from the house, two men were hiding in undergrowth. They had gas masks and a fake suicide note, made to look like Mills had addressed it to his wife.

"By the time you get this letter, I'll be gone because I can't live with myself 'cause every time I look at you I can see I have hurt you," the note allegedly said.

Police arrested the two men, Geraint Berry, 46, and Steven Thomas, 47.

But the case was far from closed, as investigators were about to make a shocking discovery.

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When searching Berry's phone, police found text messages between the 46-year-old and Christopher Mills' wife, Michelle.

According to the messages, Berry and Michelle, now 46, had been having an affair for about three months leading up to the crime, and had been conspiring to murder Mills, now 48.

In one text, Michelle allegedly said she wanted her husband "gone one way or another" so she and Berry could "move forward" together.

In response, Berry apparently told Michelle that he had "boys" to do the job for them, and assured her they wouldn't get caught.

When Michelle was arrested, the 46-year-old apparently told police: "I'm going to prison for this, aren't I?"

In court, Detective Inspector Sam Gregory said that Berry, encouraged by Michelle, became "increasingly occupied by hostile thoughts" towards Christopher Mills.

"The pair had communicated a number of ways in which they could kill him," said the inspector. "Not one, not two but three attempts to take Mr Mills' life and I have no doubt they would have continued to come up with these plans had they not been caught that night."

When confronted with the evidence, Michelle claimed that the texts were merely a "fantasy", and were never intended to be acted upon.

But on the night of the attack, while Michelle claimed she was trying to find phone service, she allegedly didn't call the police until after Berry and Thomas had left the premises.

Former soldier Christopher Mills. Image: ITV.

Investigators also said they found texts warning Berry that the police were on route.

"Get away, delete all communications … please on both phones … I love you," Michelle wrote.

She was also questioned about a text she sent to Berry after the attack, which read: "I know who was with you, Chris didn't recognise you."

In response, Michelle 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."

Meanwhile, Berry's lawyer argued that the "only plan was to frighten" Mills, rather than murder.

But Detective Inspector Sam Gregory pointed out that no explanation was given for the fake suicide note or gas masks.

"What's clear is that these were not being used to frighten Mr Mills – they were there to set up a fake suicide," she said.

The third suspect, Steven Thomas, said he was oblivious to the murder plot and the victim's identity, arguing that he had been intimidated by Berry to be involved.

In October this year, Michelle and Berry were found guilty of conspiring to murder Christopher Mills. Thomas was acquitted, but police said he previously admitted to a weapons charge. They are set to be sentenced on 19th December this year. 

Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Sam Gregory admitted that this case "has all the makings of a TV drama," but reminded people of the concerning reality.

"At the heart of it is a victim of a real conspiracy to take someone's life, and there were potential fatal consequences to the planned attack," she said.

"I am pleased that Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry have now been found guilty of conspiracy to murder, and that they will be suitably sentenced for their part in their plans to kill Mr Mills. They will now face the consequences of their actions."

Feature Image: Dyfed-Powys Police.