Drug dealer and ex-lover jailed for killing Wigan man in gun and acid attack over Tinder date rape claim
A drug dealer and his former girlfriend have been jailed for murdering a father-of-two who was shot in the face and had acid poured on his body.
Michael Hillier tracked down Liam Smith and waited outside his home in Wigan for nearly 10 hours before the attack.
The 39-year-old plotted the assault over a 10-month period with his then girlfriend Rachel Fulstow, 37, who had claimed 38-year-old Mr Smith had raped her after a Tinder date.
Hillier, from Sheffield, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 33 years in jail after being found unanimously guilty of murder following a six-week trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.
Fulstow will also face life behind bars, with a minimum term of 30 years, plus 18 months for perverting the course of justice, after being found guilty of murder and one charge of perverting the course of justice, after lying to police.
The judge called this a “brutal and cold-blooded murder” and said the pair decided “to exact your own vengeance. The two of you decided to act as judge, jury and executioner”.
The judge added: “You showed no remorse whatsoever.”
Michael Hillier
Rachel Fulstow
Killers went on holiday after brutal murder
During the trial, the court heard Mr Smith was lured out of his house at about 6.40pm on 24 November 2022 by Hillier, who shot him in the face before pouring acid onto his face and body, followed by soda crystals.
The couple then went on a two-week holiday to Jamaica just days after the killing.
When the former lovers returned home, Hillier was arrested and Fulstow was initially treated as a witness.
Police later arrested her as a suspect after she was found to have lied during interviews.
Fulstow’s phone showed she had made internet searches into Mr Smith’s electrical company and Mitsubishi Shogun cars, like the one used by Hillier and later burned out after the murder.
On the morning of the killing, she also checked the weather in Wigan.
Mr Smith’s family shouted “yes” and “thank you so much” before sobbing and hugging as the jury found both defendants guilty of murder on Wednesday.
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Victim Liam Smith
Former couple turned on each other during trial
Hillier, who was handcuffed in the dock, stared over at his former partner as the verdicts were returned.
The trial heard conflicting accounts from the former couple, who turned on each other with different versions of events.
Fulstow had met Mr Smith on a date in York in 2019, the court was told. She said they had “non-consensual sex” at a hotel in the city.
But Fulstow did not describe what happened as rape, she told the trial, and did not report it to the police.
The court heard she went for lunch with Mr Smith the day after the one-night stand.
She began dating Hillier two years later in 2021.
Fulstow said he could be verbally abusive and unpredictable and was not happy she had a one-night stand with Mr Smith.
Hillier, who told the court he was a drug dealer involved in producing and distributing cannabis on a large scale, said he and Fulstow had both planned the attack on Mr Smith.
He claimed Fulstow told him she had been “graphically raped” by Mr Smith.
Hillier, who had admitted manslaughter but denied murder, told the jury: “We decided jointly between the two of us that we would deal with the matter ourselves and seek justice ourselves and go down the vigilante route.”
Fulstow, an international travel and tourism management graduate from Leeds Met University, said she was “petrified” to go to the police about her boyfriend.
She told the court the first she knew of the attack on Mr Smith was when Hillier turned up at her house the following morning and told her.
UK
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.
“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA
‘Fully cooperating’
Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.
The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Previous investigation
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.
In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
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Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.
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