Michael Thompson, 56, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday after refusing to enter the courtroom. The judge described his absence as an "ultimate act of cowardice and contempt."
Background of Abuse
Thompson subjected his wife Kimberley, 43, to years of domestic abuse, including controlling and coercive behaviour and physical violence. He made hundreds of hours of recordings of her before he suffocated her at their Northampton home in the early hours of August 9 last year. The couple had been married for 19 years and had two children; they were separated and divorce proceedings had been initiated at the time of the killing.
Trial and Verdict
A seven-week trial heard that Thompson claimed they had consensual sex before he later found Ms Thompson lifeless, surrounded by tablets and alcohol bottles. However, a post-mortem examination found no evidence of alcohol and only low levels of caffeine, paracetamol and codeine in her body. Jurors unanimously found Thompson guilty of rape, murder and two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Sentencing Remarks
Judge Nirmal Shant KC 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's defence barrister, Jonas Hankin KC, informed the court that his client was "voluntarily absent."
