Couple on trial accused of murder wanted to 'maim' and 'disfigure' dad shot and doused in acid, trial told
24.07.2023 - 16:55
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A couple on trial accused of murder wanted to ‘maim’ and ‘disfigure’ a dad who was shot dead and then doused in acid, a trial has heard. Liam Smith, 38, was found dead outside his home in Wigan after being shot in the face before having sulfuric acid and then soda crystals poured on him, a jury has been told.
Michael Hillier, 39, from Sheffield, has admitted killing Mr Smith after pleading guilty to manslaughter, but he denies murder. Rachel Fulstow, 37, from York, denies murder.
Prosecutors claim the alleged murder was ‘probably a misplaced, misguided and wholly disproportionate act of revenge’. Minshull Street Crown Court has heard that Mr Smith had spent a night at a hotel with Ms Fulstow in 2019, and she went on to claim that he’d raped her.
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Then in 2021 Ms Fulstow began a relationship with Mr Hillier, and told him about her allegation. Mr Smith was found dead on Kilburn Drive in Shevington, Wigan on November 24 last year.
As the trial entered a third week, the jury was read a transcript of a ‘covert’ audio recording obtained in prison featuring Mr Hillier, which was captured in February. In the conversation, he said: “We both wanted him to suffer, you know what I mean, it wasn’t the intention for him to end up dead.
“It was basically to maim him, disable him and then to pour the acid on his face to disfigure him so he was scarred for life, like she was scarred for life.” Mr Hillier claimed the ‘version of the rape she gave me was completely different to the one that she gave to the police’.
He said: “The version of the rape she gave me was completely different to the one that she gave to the police. Although she has