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, at their shared home in Northampton. The court heard that Thompson attempted to stage her death as a suicide.
Years of abuse and final attack
Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court heard that Thompson subjected Kimberley, known as Kim, to years of domestic abuse, including physical violence and controlling, coercive behaviour. The couple had been married for 19 years and had two children. They had been separated for two years but continued to live in the same house with separate bedrooms.
Kim had made plans to move on after their divorce, which was nearing completion. Between midnight and 3:30 am on 9 August, Thompson entered her bedroom, raped her, and suffocated her. He then spent time staging the scene to make it look like suicide, placing empty pill packets, bottles of gin and vodka, and a photograph of Kim's sister, who had taken her own life a decade earlier.
Attempt to deceive authorities
Thompson posted messages on Kim's social media accounts before calling the ambulance service at 5:30 am. He tried to convince police and paramedics that she had taken her own life. However, a postmortem examination found no evidence of alcohol and only low levels of caffeine, paracetamol, and codeine in her body. Friends and family expressed disbelief that Kim would take her own life and informed police of her future plans and the history of domestic abuse.
Trial and sentencing
Michael Thompson was found guilty of rape and murder after a six-week trial. He was “voluntarily absent” from his sentencing hearing on Tuesday. The judge, Nirmal Shant KC, stated: “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.” She added that she would ensure Thompson received a bundle of victim impact statements and her sentencing remarks so he could “read of the devastation you have wreaked.”
Victim impact statements
At least six of the 11 jurors who returned to watch the sentencing wiped tears as the couple's daughter, Athena, appeared via video link from the US. She told the court her father was a “jealous, conniving, narcissistic villain.” She 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. 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.”
Police reaction
Detective Chief Inspector Torie Harrison, who led the police investigation, said: “Kim had been subjected to domestic abuse for much of her relationship with Thompson, with manipulation, coercive control and physical violence the norm. Over the years, Thompson stripped Kim’s confidence away, but in the time since their separation friends and family began to see the old Kim re-emerging, with a renewed enthusiasm for life.”
