A controlling husband who raped and murdered his estranged wife before staging the scene to look like a suicide has been jailed for life, as his daughter delivered a heartbreaking victim impact statement that left jurors in tears. Michael Thompson, 56, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years after being convicted of the rape and murder of his estranged wife, Kimberley Thompson, 43. Thompson refused to attend his sentencing hearing, with his barrister telling the court he was “voluntarily absent”. Judge Nirmal Shant KC condemned his refusal to face the court, describing it as “the ultimate act of cowardice and contempt”.
Years of abuse
The court heard Thompson subjected Kimberley to years of coercive control, domestic abuse and violence before suffocating her at their Northampton home in the early hours of 9 August 2025. Evidence presented during the seven-week trial revealed he had secretly made hundreds of hours of recordings of his wife in the months leading up to her death. The couple had been married for 19 years and shared two children but were separated, with divorce proceedings underway. Prosecutors said Thompson had become increasingly resentful over Kimberley’s new relationship, her plans to move out and her request for £65,000 as part of the divorce settlement.
Suicide scene staged
After killing Kimberley, Thompson attempted to disguise the murder as suicide. The court heard he surrounded her body with empty pill packets and bottles of vodka and gin, alongside photographs of Kimberley, himself and her sister, who had died by suicide a decade earlier. He also posted messages on Kimberley’s social media accounts claiming she had “drank too much”. Friends quickly became suspicious, telling investigators the spelling, grammar and tone of the posts were completely unlike Kimberley’s. Thompson later claimed the pair had consensual sex before he found his wife unconscious after she had taken tablets and consumed alcohol. However, a post-mortem examination found no alcohol in her system, with only low levels of caffeine, paracetamol and codeine detected. Jurors unanimously found Thompson guilty of murder, rape, and two counts of perverting the course of justice.
“You were literally trying to get away with murder”
Passing sentence, Judge Shant said Thompson had shown no remorse throughout the trial. She told him:
“You were literally trying to get away with murder.”
The judge said Thompson had made a “concerted attempt to conceal” the killing.
“Your deception continued when you called emergency services. The evidence makes it clear you pretended to do CPR and feigned distress.”
She added that he had deprived his children of their mother and robbed Kimberley’s family and friends of a woman who had been looking forward to a new chapter in her life. Judge Shant described Kimberley as:
“A happy, bubbly and lively person” who had been “on the eve of a new start.”
“You killed my mum – you killed me too”
One of the most emotional moments of the hearing came when Kimberley’s daughter, Athena, addressed the court by video link from the United States. She described Thompson as:
“A jealous, conniving, narcissistic villain.”
In a powerful victim impact statement titled “You Killed My Mum, You Killed Me Too”, Athena spoke movingly about the devastating impact of losing her mother. Several jurors were seen wiping away tears as she described the pain her family had endured. Judge Shant ordered that a copy of her sentencing remarks, together with the victim impact statements, be sent to Thompson in prison. She said he would have the opportunity to:
“Read of the devastation you have wreaked.”
Thompson received a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years for murder and perverting the course of justice, alongside a concurrent 10-year sentence for rape.
