A ‘jealous, obsessive and controlling’ man who tried to get away with murdering his estranged wife by staging the scene to make it look like she killed herself is facing a life sentence.
Michael Thompson, 56, raped and smothered Kimberley Thompson, 43, at the house they shared in Northampton in the early hours of August 9 last year.
He then went room to room gathering photos, packets of tablets and bottles of alcohol to try and ‘manufacture’ evidence of suicide before claiming he woke to find her dead.
But close friends and family described Kim as being the ‘happiest’ they had seen her in years, financially independent and ready to move out and move on with a new boyfriend.
Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court heard Thompson controlled every aspect of her life behind closed doors on Pinewood Road, from the clothes she wore, who she spoke to and even what she bought from the shops.
Kim told friends her husband also ‘strangled her, choked her, raped her, brutalised her and assaulted her’ over the course of their marriage.
She even confided to one that she felt Thompson might kill her and ‘do it in a way that he hoped he could get away with’.
Police and paramedics initially believed Thompson’s ‘charade’ about how Kim died.
But a post-mortem examination found no evidence of any alcohol and only low levels of caffeine, paracetamol and codeine in her body.
A pathologist found bruises on Kim’s hands and arms consistent with defensive injuries, as well as injuries to her mouth and gums in keeping with a hand being placed across her mouth and face.
They gave external airway obstruction as a plausible cause of death.
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When ending her own life was all but ruled out as a possibility, Thompson tried to suggest Kim could have died from an unknown cause that left no trace.
But he declined to give evidence and explain how that could be possible considering all the suicide paraphernalia set up around Kim’s body.
He was today found guilty of murder, rape, and two charges of perverting the course of justice after a six-week trial.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing on July 14, when he will be jailed for life.
The trial heard Kim was in the ‘most unhappy of marriages’ to Thompson but had a new boyfriend and was moving on with her life.
She was planning to move out and had asked for around £65,000 as part of their divorce.
Miranda Moore KC, prosecuting, said Thompson ‘is a man who felt he was entitled to various things’ and was ‘incensed that she was able to pick herself up and think about a new life without him in it.’
‘After the divorce papers were served, he wanted her dependant and needy,’ she told jurors.
‘Kim, on the other hand, had changed from the skinny, almost anorexic-looking, fearful, crying – I’m going to use the word wreck.
‘She got fit, she went to the gym – partially I suspect to avoid him, but partially to get fit. She got financially independent and she had found a new and loving partner.’
The court heard Kim had told friends, family and work colleagues that she suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband.
Several gave evidence – many through tears – that Kim had told them Thompson had pushed her from an upper window at their home and perforated her eardrum when hitting her while she was holding their daughter, who was an infant at the time.
She described being choked, held by the throat and forced to have sex with Thompson, Ms Moore said.
Jurors also heard the extent of Thompson’s controlling behaviour, which extended to every aspect of her life.
Kim had to print off her work itinerary so Thompson knew where – and why – she was going away.
Thompson told her which of her friends were ‘good for her’, went through her phone and messaged men he assumed she must have been seeing, told her how to dress, checked her shopping receipts, and quizzed her about her underwear.
He even turned up unannounced at a play date Kim was attending at another mum’s home and went through the house ‘room by room, cupboard by cupboard’ looking for a man he thought was there.
‘That’s how he behaved,’ Ms Moore said. ‘He simply can’t leave her alone.’
By the summer of 2024, one friend told the court Kim was living in the ‘smallest room in the house’ with only a mattress on the floor and black bin bags for her clothes.
Ms Moore told jurors ‘misogynistic probably isn’t going far enough’ in describing Thompson.
‘He is the walking embodiment of what we in the trade call “the myths”.
‘No one knows what goes on inside of marriage.
‘It is a myth that abused women always report the abuse to the police. It is a myth that they don’t stay with their abusers.
‘Sadly, it is the experience of the court that abused women stay in a relationship, make excuses for the abuser.
‘“He’s not always like that” – we heard that in this case – “He’s lovely sometimes, he’s great with the children”.
‘Perhaps, ladies and gentlemen, it’s when that woman tries to stop the cycle of control and abuse that they are most at risk.
‘When she says, “I’m going to stop your control over me, I’m going to move on, I’m going to make a life for myself without you” – at that point, when the abuser realises that they’re no longer going to have that control, that they are perhaps at their most dangerous.’
What to do if you’re experiencing domestic abuse
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, you are not alone. And whether you are currently coping with or have made the decision to leave, you do have options.
- If you are thinking about leaving, domestic abuse charity Refuge suggests starting a record of abusive incidents, which might include saving pictures or messages, or making notes of times, dates and details of incidents.
- The next step is to make copies of important documents such as court orders, marriage certificates, National Insurance Numbers and your driving licence.
- In the meantime, identify the safer areas of your home so that you know where to go if your abuser becomes aggravated. Ideally, this should be a room with a phone and a door or window to the outside.
- If you feel ready to leave, start by making a plan for a safe, reliable route out. If you feel safe to do so, pack an emergency bag so that you leave in a hurry if needed.
- You can access a local refuge, either with or without children, for as long as you need to stay. The address is confidential. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) is open 24-hours a day and has all the details of refuges in your area.
- In an emergency situation, ring 999 and ask for the police. If you aren’t able to talk, try the Silent Solution: after dialling 999, listen to the questions from the operator and respond by coughing or tapping your device, if possible. If prompted, press 55 to let the operator know it’s an emergency – you’ll be put through to the police.
Read more here.
On the night of Kim’s murder, Thompson had been in his room watching sexual videos of her, ‘stewing’ about the fact she was about to move on.
When he eventually called 999 as part of his ruse shortly before 6am, paramedics found Kim with an injury to her mouth and surrounded by empty pill packets, bottles of vodka and gin and photographs of her and Thompson and another of her sister, who had taken her own life a decade before.
Thompson claimed his wife had sent him a sexually explicit text and was ‘merry’ before they had consensual sex, and he later found her unresponsive.
But friends and family became suspicious after seeing posts shared on Kim’s Facebook page and Snapchat account that morning saying she had ‘drank too much’.
They flagged the uncharacteristic typo and that it was not written the way she spoke. They insisted she would not have taken her own life because she was happy, making plans, messaging family members and arranging flights so she could go and see her daughter at college in the US.
Ms Moore told jurors Kim ‘’would never have taken her own life’, adding: ‘The overwhelming evidence that you heard was that Kim was loved and had friends.
‘She was vibrant and she worked her socks off for her kids.
‘We say all the evidence pointed to her wanting to live, enjoy her children, and her new life.’
She said: ‘Mr Thompson killed Kim. He had already raped her and she fought back.
‘Then, realising what he had done, he set about manufacturing a scenario he hoped the authorities would swallow.
‘He sent a message explaining why he had come down to the room for sex. He collected things from around the house to stage the scene – the wedding photograph from the wardrobe in his room, the silver medicine box from his ensuite, bottles from downstairs.
‘And he almost succeeded.’
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