Lovers jailed for plot to kill woman's husband

Thomas, of Blaengwynfi, in the Afan Valley, who the judge said had played a “subordinate role” to Berry, was handed a 12-month sentence for possessing an imitation firearm.

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Thomas, who admitted the charge, has served the time while on remand.Sentencing Berry, the judge said: “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”

He said text messages between Berry and Mills revealed the “chilling reality’ of the plan, which was “thwarted by the remarkable fortitude and courage of Mr Mills, who fought you and your accomplice off”.

Addressing Mills, the judge said she deleted the messages because she knew they were incriminating.

He said: “Geraint Berry may have been largely responsible for devising the method but you encouraged him to execute the plan.

“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.”