Like the hitman he thought he was, Geraint ‘Gaz’ Berry certainly talked the talk.
‘I’m your protector,’ the 47-year-old told Michelle Mills, his lover, describing her husband Christopher as ‘a dead man walking’.
Texts between Berry and Mills – referred to as ‘sexy bum’ in numerous messages – discussed ways to get rid of their target.
These included putting ground-up sleeping pills in Christopher’s drink, anti-freeze in his gravy, foxgloves in his salad or blowing up his Mini Cooper.
In the end, the pair decided on a more direct approach – late one night Berry and acquaintance Steven Thomas simply knocked on the front door of the holiday caravan Christopher and Michelle Mills were staying at in Cenarth, Carmarthenshire.
Dressed in black and with balaclavas covering their faces, the pair were armed with imitation pistols.
Given the element of surprise and Berry’s claim to be an ex-Royal Marine sniper who had killed ‘thousands’ in action, the odds seemed in their favour.
But within seconds things had started to go very wrong. Burly Mr Mills, himself a 20st former soldier, immediately fought back, hitting Berry in the face before attempting to grab a gun as they all fell to the ground.
Former Royal Marine Geraint Berry (pictured) plotted to kill his lover’s husband so the pair could continue their romance
Michelle Mills (left) plotted to kill her husband Christopher Mills (right) with her lover Berry
There Mr Mills managed to pull the mask off one of his assailants and started to gouge his eyes with his thumbs.
Berry and Thomas ran off. Armed officers and police dogs rushed to the scene. Not long after a police helicopter spotted the hapless pair hiding in a bush.
Officers later found gas masks with filter canisters, cable ties, pliers and a telescopic gun-sight in their rucksacks. Berry had asked Mills about the gas supply in the caravan, it emerged.
There was also a fake ‘suicide note’ made to look like it was written by Mr Mills and addressed to his wife.
Within hours of the incident last year, Mills, who witnessed the attack, was also arrested.
The 46-year-old’s DNA was found on the seal of the suicide letter along with hundreds of incriminating messages, including a text to Berry after the raid saying: ‘Police have been called. Get away. Delete all contact on both phones. I love you.’
Yesterday a jury found Berry and Mills guilty of conspiracy to murder at Swansea Crown Court. Thomas, 47, was cleared of the same charge. He and Berry had previously pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear. Mills was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
While they will be sentenced at a later date, the Daily Mail can today reveal the extraordinary story behind this sordid tale of sex and betrayal.
Because unlike the tough image he revelled in, Berry was in fact a petty criminal, a love rat and a Walter Mitty fantasist.
In court, Mills claimed that Berry had told her he was a retired Royal Marine who had ‘done 20 years’ as a Regimental Sergeant Major. But well-placed sources have told the Daily Mail that Berry was actually in the Army for just 13 months and never served in the Marines, who are part of the Royal Navy.
In an exclusive interview, Berry’s estranged wife Jane, the mother of four of his six children, claimed he had in fact gone AWOL before even completing his basic training with the Welsh Guards – lasting just six weeks.
Steven Thomas (pictured) is said to have joined Berry as his accomplice during the fake raid they had planned in a plot to kill Mr Mills
Berry and accomplice Thomas were in such a rush to leave after being overpowered by Mr Mills that they left their imitation weapons behind
Berry’s murder kit also included two gas masks, the court was told, and was found in a rucksack
She said they met in Wrexham, North Wales, soon after and in the 15 years they were together he only once spoke about being in the Army – and never mentioned the Marines. ‘When he was with me, he spent most of the time gaming on Xbox, playing Call Of Duty and Grand Theft Auto,’ she said.
‘He had to have the latest console, the latest game. It was like having another child. He says he was a sniper who killed hundreds… well, he may have online. That was his world.’
She added: ‘He’s a fantasist and a compulsive liar. At the beginning he sucks you in with his charm. He had the gift of the gab.
‘He would lie about anything and everything. I tried to get him psychiatric help and at one point I took him to the doctors – but I had to leave the room. He couldn’t even tell the doctor the truth.’
Jane claims Berry was jealous and controlling, had a number of affairs and was violent to her.
In 2017, he was given a restraining order after pleading guilty to harassment, just one of a long list of criminal convictions she said he had to his name.
Interestingly, it was only thanks to his short-lived military service that Berry clapped eyes on his future lover.
At the time 46-year-old Mills and her husband both had jobs helping ex-service personnel.
Two imitation handguns were also shown in court after husband Mr Mills managed to fight off Berry and Thomas before they fled
Balaclavas were also recovered that were said to be part of Berry’s ‘kill kit’
Christopher Mills had spent 28 years in the British Army, retiring in 2014. He started working for a homeless veterans charity called Alabare, before going on to work for Help 4 Heroes.
In 2015, he met his future wife through her work with a mental health organisation and encouraged her to join Alabare as a manager. Having formed a romantic attachment, the couple duly married in 2018.
Born Ethel Michelle Janes, Mills came from a South Wales traveller family. She wed for the first time in 1999 aged just 19 after meeting Steve Lloyd – he was 15 years older than her – in a local shop. But things started to go wrong while they were on a honeymoon cruise around the Mediterranean.
Mr Lloyd-Janes, 59, who took his wife’s surname, recalls: ‘Every day on the cruise when we went ashore we had to find a phone box so she could call home.’
Two weeks after returning home Mills announced she was unhappy away from her family and found her husband’s rural home too quiet. The marriage was over within a month. ‘I was devastated,’ Mr Lloyd-Janes recalled, adding that the divorce was amicable.
Much less amicable was the break-up of her next relationship, with Ashley Twining, who was working in a Llanelli butcher’s shop when they met.
‘My mates warned me against her, they said she couldn’t be trusted – but love conquers all,’ he said. In 2004, the couple had a son, William, with Mr Twining believing he was in a relationship for life. But Mills finished it out of the blue, taking their three-year-old with her.
Mr Twining hasn’t seen his son since and years later received a solicitor’s letter saying he was taking Mr Mills’s surname.
By then Mills and her son had moved in to Mr Mills’s neat semi in the village of Llangennech, near Llanelli.
As well as the house, the 48-year-old had an Army pension and paid the mortgage and bills.
Giving evidence he said his wife handled their finances, putting money in Isas and having control of more than £50,000 in savings. In 2023, they bought a £58,000 holiday caravan.
Having joined Help 4 Heroes, Mr Mills had also opted into a life insurance policy scheme for £124,000, naming Mills as the 100 per cent beneficiary.
The policy came into effect when his probation period ended in August 2024 – just weeks before the murder attempt took place.
According to Mr Mills, he believed he was in a ‘happy marriage’. He said he no idea Mills was cheating on him, only learning of the affair after the attack.
But last summer he noticed his wife was spending more time at work and with Berry.
Christopher Mills pictured outside Swansea Crown Court after giving evidence on October 7
Mills claimed the longer hours were down to staff sickness and said that Berry, who was living in veterans’ accommodation organised by Alabare, needed to be ferried to hospital appointments.
The reality was that the pair had embarked on a torrid three-month affair, charted in more than 2,000 increasingly explicit messages.
In one exchange the pair talked about how different it would be if Mr Mills were not around, with Berry saying: ‘He won’t be soon,’ accompanied by a raised eyebrow emoji.
In further texts Mills expressed her love for Berry and desire to leave her husband, writing: ‘I need him gone one way or another.’
Berry joined in, saying: ‘I would die for you or do time for you, so if this carries on I am going to f****** kill him.’
The threats became increasingly blunt, with Berry claiming he could arrange a ‘hit’ on Mr Mills, have him poisoned or shot, adding: ‘I am not joking, babe.’
On September 20, the day of the attack, their talk turned into action. During the attack, Mr Mills shouted to his wife to hand him a knife to defend himself with.
‘She didn’t try to help me at all during the struggle,’ he recalled.
The following day Mr Mills was himself arrested after his wife made claims of domestic violence against him – which he categorically denied.
He said: ‘At that instant I realised that Michelle was involved. My heart sank.’
As for Mills, when she was taken for questioning, she told police: ‘I’m going to prison for this, aren’t I?’
Giving evidence in court she claimed by last summer her marriage was in trouble and she wanted a divorce. She said that she never took her lover’s messages seriously, saying: ‘It was very pie in the sky and fantasies.’
Now facing a lengthy prison sentence with his lover, Berry appears to finally be facing up to the reality of his situation.
In June, he wrote to Jane out of the blue from prison trying to get in touch with his children.
Sent from HMP Swansea, where he was held on remand, it read: ‘Can you tell [his four children] I’m sorry. If you want to write back it’s up to you, Jane. Anyway that’s me done for now.’
As, indeed, he is.
