Michael Thompson commits ‘ultimate act of cowardice’ says judge as murderer did not come to dock to be sentenced
A 56-year-old Northampton man, who was found guilty of murdering and raping his estranged wife Kimberley Bounds in their family home has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years.
The judge described Michael Thompson as committing the “ultimate act of cowardice”, as the murderer and rapist did not come to the dock to be sentenced and hear the victim impact statements from those grieving the loss of Kimberley Bounds.
The 56-year-old, of Pinewood Road, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday July 14 with a minimum term of 33 years before he is considered for parole, and has been added to the sex offender’s register for life.
It was last week when he was found guilty of the rape and murder of 43-year-old Kimberley, at the end of a six-week trial held at Nottingham Crown Court. He was sentenced there but voluntarily chose not to come to the dock to be addressed by HHJ Shant KC.
The 56-year-old was also sentenced for two charges of committing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, one for covering up the rape and the other for covering up Kim’s murder.
In her sentencing remarks, HHJ Shant KC said of Thompson: “You have shown no remorse during the trial when you sat in the dock shaking your head and making audible noises of dissent despite being warned about your behaviour.
“As an ultimate act of cowardice and contempt to those affected by this you have refused to come into the courtroom this morning to hear them express their grief.
“During the night of August 8 into August 9 2025, you went into Kim’s room. There, you raped her and killed her by deliberately impeding her breathing until she died. What followed was not panic or confusion, but a concerted attempt to conceal what you had done.
“You set about creating a false scene to deceive the police. You moved a photograph of Kim’s deceased sister, a wedding photograph, drink and tablets, so as to suggest that she had taken her own life with alcohol and medication. You then sent messages pretending to be her. In doing so, you were trying to get away with murder.
“Your deception continued when you rang 999, pretending that you were trying to get help for her. The evidence makes clear that you pretended to perform CPR and feigned distress, both during that call and when the police and ambulance staff arrived.
“You and Kim had been married for twenty years and had two accomplished children. By killing her, you deprived your own children of their mother. You also took from her family, friends and colleagues a woman who was accomplished, valued and widely loved.
“The evidence in this trial demonstrated the strength of that love and the depth of the loss caused by your offending. The evidence also showed the course of your relationship. When Kim first married you, she was a happy, bubbly and lively person.
“After she lapsed once during the marriage, you used that against her and used it to exert control over her. As time went on, despite having an affair yourself, you sought through physical and verbal abuse to diminish her in every way you could. One of her friends heard you over the phone being abusive towards her, calling her every name possible, while, distressingly, Kim was apologising to you.
“You also repeatedly invaded her privacy looking at her messages and recording nearly 500 hours of recordings. She was at the time you killed her on the eve of a new start, leaving you behind moving into her house, and continuing the new relationship she had found and was happy with. She adored her children and was looking forward to a new life.
“I have read statements from numerous family members and friends. They speak powerfully of the devastation you have caused. You have deprived them of a mother, a sister and a friend and nothing I do to you today by way of sentence is going to give them back the joy of having Kim in their lives.”