Woman accused of plotting murder of Tinder date denies kissing boyfriend goodbye, wishing him 'good luck' and making him 'packed lunch' before he killed him
10.08.2023 - 17:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman accused of plotting the murder of a man she'd been on a Tinder date with denied kissing her boyfriend goodbye, wishing him 'good luck' and making him a 'packed lunch' before he killed him. Michael Hillier, 39, has admitted killing dad-of-two Liam Smith, who was shot dead and doused in acid outside his home in Wigan in November last year.
Hillier's partner, 37-year-old Rachel Fulstow, denies having any involvement in the alleged murder. They both deny murder, but Hillier has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Jurors at Minshull Street Crown Court have heard Ms Fulstow previously went on a Tinder date with 38-year-old Mr Smith in September 2019, when she claimed she had sexual relations with him, which were ‘unconsensual’.
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Ms Fulstow has alleged Hillier reacted with ‘anger and rage’ after she told him of the incident, which she said she didn’t regard as ‘rape’ and did not report to the police. As she spent a fourth day giving evidence, Ms Fulstow was questioned by Hillier's barrister.
Asking her about the morning of the alleged murder, Louise Blackwell KC put it to Ms Fulstow: "Did you kiss him goodbye in the morning?" "No," she replied.
"Did you wish him luck?," the KC continued. "No," Ms Fulstow replied.
"And that was some time between two and four in the morning?," Ms Blackwell said. "That didn’t happen," the defendant said.
"You even prepared a packed lunch for him, didn’t you?," the barrister claimed. "No," she replied.
She also denied that she 'got rid' of a bicycle on Hillier's behalf, that she acquired petrol to burn a car or had provided him with clothes. Ms Fulstow has previously claimed that the first