Life sentence for man who murdered much-loved mum-of-two in Cardiff

A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of mum-of-two Victoria Thomas in Cardiff.

Alcwyn Thomas had spent the day drinking heavily and taking cocaine before strangling 45-year-old Victoria to death at the house they shared on Caerphilly Road in Birchgrove.

Thomas, 44, admitted manslaughter but maintained that Victoria’s death was a ‘sex act gone wrong’ and that it was during ‘erotic asphyxiation’ that she died.

He denied murder but was found guilty following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. He has now been sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum term of 20 years.

CCTV from the afternoon of Monday, August 19, 2024, showed the couple, who were not married, visiting The New Inn on Caerphilly Road and then Club 3000 Bingo in Gabalfa with members of the defendant’s family. 

His mood that evening was described as argumentative and moody. He had drunk a total of 16 pints of lager and had been using cocaine. Further CCTV outside the bingo halls, captured Alcwyn Thomas taking cocaine and what appeared to be an argument between the couple before getting in a taxi.

The last sighting of Victoria alive was at 9.26pm when the couple returned home.

Just after 11pm, Thomas sent texts to his sisters saying, “Sorry I done something so bad”.

Victoria’s body was found during the early hours of Tuesday, August 20, after Thomas’ niece, concerned by the texts, went to check on her welfare.

When police arrived, Thomas was asleep in the couple’s bedroom on the middle floor. He replied ‘no comment’ during police interview but later admitted intentionally strangling Victoria.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell, said:

“Victoria Thomas was a much-loved daughter, mother, sister, aunt, and niece.
“Her devastated family have shown tremendous patience and dignity during this heart-breaking ordeal. Our thoughts are with them today as they have been throughout.
“Alcwyn Thomas has shown no remorse and maintained that Victoria’s death was some kind of sex act gone wrong. He made no effort to revive her or seek help for her and having killed her he went to sleep in their bedroom.
“He now has to face up to the reality of what he did and spend a very long time in prison.”

In a statement, Victoria’s family said:

“As a family we are very grateful that justice has been done in this case.
“We would like to thank everyone involved at South Wales Police who in addition to conducting a thorough and successful investigation have provided the most fantastic support to us all throughout.
“Thanks to Victim Support for everything they have offered the family to try and make our lives slightly easier.
“We would also like to thank the CPS and in particular the team involved in the preparation of the court case and Mike Jones KC for his excellent presentation of the evidence which led to the successful conviction of Vicki’s murderer.
“We will never get Vicki back and that is something that we will have to live with for the rest of our lives but knowing that her murderer will not live the rest of his days in freedom provides some level of comfort.”