Michael Thompson, 56, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years for the rape and murder of his estranged wife, Kimberley Thompson, 43, in Northampton. The sentencing took place at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, after Thompson refused to enter the courtroom, with his defence barrister Jonas Hankin KC citing his “voluntary absence”.
Details of the Crime
Thompson suffocated Kimberley at their home on Pinewood Road, Northampton, in the early hours of August 9, 2025. He then staged the scene to resemble a suicide, placing tablets and alcohol bottles around her body. A post-mortem examination found no alcohol in her system and only low levels of caffeine, paracetamol, and codeine, contradicting Thompson’s claim that they had consensual sex before he found her lifeless.
The couple had been married for 19 years and had two children, but were separated and divorce proceedings were underway at the time of the killing. The trial heard that Thompson subjected Kimberley to years of domestic abuse, including controlling and coercive behaviour, physical violence, and hundreds of hours of secret recordings of her.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
After a seven-week trial, a jury unanimously found Thompson guilty of rape, murder, and two counts of perverting the course of justice. Judge Nirmal Shant KC, sentencing in a packed public gallery, said: “You have shown no remorse. Throughout the course of the trial you sat in the dock shaking your head and making audible noises of dissent. And in the ultimate act of cowardice and contempt, you have refused to come into court to hear from the family of the grief you have caused.”
Thompson will serve a minimum of 33 years before being considered for parole.
