The middle class professional and her gangster boyfriend who hatched a deadly revenge plot
24.08.2023 - 19:31
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
As they took in the majestic surroundings of the Caribbean, Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow looked just like any other loved-up couple. They had flown to Jamaica for a two-week trip of a lifetime.
The pair seemed as though they didn't have a care in the world - enjoying drinks, riding horses in the sea and soaking up the sun.
Hillier was certainly getting into the Caribbean vibe.
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"Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, make you wanna move your dancing feet," he posted on Facebook, quoting the famous lyrics of the country's most famous son, Bob Marley.
It was a world away from the slate grey skies of England which they'd left behind in November last year. They had reason to be content with their lot as they relaxed in the Caribbean sunshine.
The pair thought they'd committed the perfect crime. They believed they'd got away with murder.
Just days earlier, Hillier had shot a man in the face and, as a final, degrading insult, doused him in acid. It had the hallmarks of a gangland execution.
At first, police were baffled as to why Liam Smith, a 38-year-old electrician and father-of-two, would have been targeted in such a grisly manner. But soon enough they discovered the link which bound the two men together.
Fulstow, a woman in her mid 30s, lived a comfortable middle class life and had a close-knit family. For Mr Smith, a chance encounter with Fulstow years earlier ultimately ended in him being shot dead in cold blood yards from his front door.
A murderous plot had been hatched by Fulstow and her new flame Hillier, which had terrible consequences.
Mr Smith's death is an extraordinary, twisted tale of love and revenge, and how