- Michael Thompson has been found guilty of raping and murdering his estranged wife , Kimberley Thompson, and staging her death to appear as a suicide at their Northampton home last year.
- Thompson, described as controlling and abusive, was in the process of divorcing Ms Thompson and had made extensive recordings of her before killing her in the early hours of August 9.
- Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court unanimously convicted Thompson of rape, murder , and two counts of perverting the course of justice after a seven-week trial, during which he did not give evidence.
- The court heard that Thompson manufactured messages and a scene suggesting suicide, despite a post-mortem finding no evidence of alcohol and only low levels of other substances in Ms Thompson's body.
- Police confirmed that a fresh murder inquiry into the death of Thompson's former partner, Rhonda Anderson, in 2000, has concluded with insufficient evidence to take further action against him, despite prosecutors arguing this information should have been admissible in the current trial.
IN FULL
Husband who staged estranged wife’s death as suicide found guilty of murder
