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. The sentencing took place at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, after a jury unanimously found him guilty of rape, murder, and two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Details of the Crime
The court heard that Thompson, of Pinewood Road, Northampton, had subjected his wife to years of domestic abuse, including controlling and coercive behaviour and physical violence. He secretly recorded hundreds of hours of footage of her before suffocating her at their Northampton home in the early hours of August 9 last year. Following her death, Thompson attempted to stage the scene to make it appear as a suicide, placing tablets and alcohol bottles around her body.
However, a post-mortem examination revealed no alcohol in Ms Thompson's system and only minimal levels of caffeine, paracetamol, and codeine, contradicting Thompson's claim that they had consensual sex before he found her unresponsive.
Sentencing and Judge's Remarks
Thompson failed to attend the sentencing hearing, with his defence barrister, Jonas Hankin KC, informing the judge that he was "voluntarily absent." Judge Nirmal Shant KC addressed Thompson's absence, stating: "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." The judge confirmed she would ensure Thompson received a complete set of victim impact statements and her sentencing remarks so he could "read of the devastation you have wreaked."
Victim Impact Statement
At least six of the 11 jurors who attended the sentencing were visibly moved to tears as Ms Thompson's daughter, Athena, delivered a powerful victim impact statement via video-link from the US. She described her father as a "jealous, conniving, narcissistic villain" and said: "How could you do such an evil, selfish, malicious thing? How could you murder the mother of your own children? You couldn't stand the fact she had so many people who cared about her." She added: "No amount of years rotting in prison will ever amount to what you deserve, because you deserve no life. You are a pathetic, unloved man. The day you killed my mother, you killed me too. I feel I will never be happy again. I have no respect for you, I have no love for you. You were meant to be my dad, how could you do this to your daughter? A dad is supposed to protect their daughter from pain, instead you caused the worst pain of my life. I will not let you defeat me, I will show up for her, my mum, and I will continue to make her proud."
Background
Thompson and his wife had been married for 19 years and had two children together. They were separated and divorce proceedings were ongoing at the time of her death. The trial lasted seven weeks, during which Thompson maintained his innocence, claiming the sex was consensual and that he found her unresponsive.
