Monster couple who killed dad and doused him in acid on doorstep jailed for life
A former couple who murdered a dad on his own doorstep and doused his body in acid have been jailed for life.
Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow plotted to kill electrician Liam Smith in a brutal revenge attack. Hillier, 39, is to serve a minimum term of 33 years while Fulstow, 37, 30 years, to cries and shouts of 'scum' from the public gallery. Hillier shouted back to the family of Liam Smith: "Your boy's a rapist", leading to a number of people shouting 'evil', 'you should hang from a noose' and 'evil b***h'.
Hillier said he was acting in revenge after his girlfriend Fulstow alleged that she'd been raped by Liam years earlier during a Tinder date. They plotted his death over a 10 month period before drug dealer Hillier made the trip to Kilburn Drive in Shevington to kill 38-year-old Liam, before turning on each other to pass the blame.
He was so badly burnt after sulphuric acid was poured on his body that his family could only say goodbye by 'holding his hand' with his bones visible. In the days that followed the brutal murder, Hillier and Fulstow flew to Jamaica on holiday and made elaborate plans for false alibis, Manchester Evening News reports.
However when they returned Hillier was quickly arrested with Fulstow first being treated as a witness. She repeatedly lied to officers and was then made a suspect. Chilling footage shows Hillier stalking Liam's home last year, waiting in his car for 10 hours before Liam was lured outside. He is seen wandering the streets wearing a hooded jumper before he shoots Liam in the face and pours chemicals over his body.
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Hillier and Fulstow were convicted on Wednesday, after turning on each other to pass the blame. Liam's grieving family could be heard shouting "yes" and "thank you so much" as the monstrous pair were convicted at Minshull Street Crown Court.
Couple's twisted plan
Rachel Fulstow told then-boyfriend Hillier she had been raped by Liam Smith (Greater Manchester Police)
Hillier stalked the victim for 10 hours before launching the deadly attack (Police handout)Hillier, who admitted manslaughter but denied murdering the electrician, told the court how he and Fulstow had both planned to attack Liam. But she denied ever knowing her ex had planned an attack. Fulstow and Liam had gone on a date in 2019 after meeting on Tinder.
She claims they had "non-consensual sex" at a hotel in York and did not describe it as rape, adding the pair went for lunch the following day. Two years on, Fulstow and Hillier started dating. She later claimed he was verbally abusive and unpredictable and that he was not happy she'd had a one-night stand with Liam.
Fulstow, who was jailed for perverting the course of justice, claimed she first became aware of the attack when Hillier turned up at her house the following morning and told her. The court heard Fulstow say she was "petrified" to go to cops about him. In the days after Liam's death in November 2022, the wicked couple went on holiday to Jamaica. But Hillier's version of events paints a different light on the story.
He claimed the pair had planned the attack together after Fulstow said she had been "graphically raped" by Liam. The killer 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."
The court also heard how Hillier was secretly recorded in jail saying he'd wanted Liam "to suffer". Fulstow's phone history showed she had made internet searches of Liam's electrical company and Mitsubishi Shogun cars, like the one used by Hillier and later burned out. She also checked the weather in Wigan on the morning of the killing.
'Devoted dad'
Liam's family gathered in court today to watch the pair jailed (PA)
Liam was shot in the face before being doused in acid (MEN Media)Liam's family packed out the court room to watch the cruel killers face justice. Jurors in the trial also returned to watch Judge Maurice Greene pass sentence.
In a statement read to the court today, Liam's mum Julia said: "On the night my world turned upside down when two officers knocked on my door they told me 90% sure the body was my son. It was the worst possible moment of my life. I was in a state of hysteria. The days that followed were a blur. was confirmed it was Liam 26 November."
She added: "Me and his younger son went to find him and found a white tent, where he had been lay for 24 hours. I constantly think of things he will miss out on. We will never be able to fill this massive void in our lives."
Lisa Wilkinson, the mother of Liam's children, described him as a 'devoted' dad who 'would do anything for his boys'. She said: "His world revolved around his boys. I just don't know what is best and I feel lost. My eldest had so many wonderful memories of his dad. My youngest is very depressed and unable to leave my side.
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Three weeks before murder, Hillier went to Liam's home (Police handout)"The effect on my boys will never be able to be told in a statement. Their grief and sadness will never end. No child should ever have to go through what they have and not be able to take their pain away. Their lives have changed forever. We will miss him forever and conditionally."
Sister Gemma Smith described Liam as her "rock" and is devastated they never got to say goodbye. "Our family got to see his only left hand, the rest of him remained covered," she said. "His skin was burnt, I could see the skeleton on his fingers. At the time I prayed our mum didn't notice the damage.
"We weren't able to give him a kiss goodbye on his cheek. When he was transferred, he was laid to rest in a closed casket upon recommendation."
How CCTV caught stalking killer
Hillier on CCTV before the attack (Greater Manchester Police)DCI Gina Brennand of GMP’s Major Incident Team, described the case as "a proper whodunnit from the start". "I had a victim that we knew nothing about," she explained. "No witnesses, no suspects, no weapon, no motive, and very little evidence to go on."
Describing how detectives solved the killing, she added: "CCTV footage, some from Liam, the victim's home address itself, and some from a bin wagon and an Asda delivery van, captured the vehicle driven by the suspect, Michael Hillier, on the day of the murder.
"What that showed us was that that car was outside of Liam's home address for almost ten hours before he got out and murdered Liam. We knew the build up in that we knew the movements of the vehicle. We knew the obtaining of license plates, and we knew how Liam had been killed but we didn't know who'd done it.
"A couple of weeks into the investigation, we received intelligence from South Yorkshire Police that a vehicle had been stopped three weeks before Liam was murdered and in that vehicle was the R22 ORA plates. It was that that really unravelled this case.
"The thread that you pull that after that was a house of cards that led to one person to another to another to CCTV to Michael Hillier to Rachel Fulstow."
Couple acted as 'judge, jury and executioner'
The couple jetted off to Jamaica after the murder (Police handout)Addressing the pair in court, the judge said the pair concocted a plan in a vigilante revenge attack. "In September 2019, you [Fulstow] spent the night in a hotel with Liam Smith," he said. "This was for you undoubtedly an unhappy occasion, you believed at the least it was not consensual. Whatever happened, it appears to be the motive for the ultimate attack on Liam Smith."
"I am sure you told Hillier details much more like Hillier's evidence. A decision was made not to go to the police. It was decided by you to exact vengeance. The two of you decided to act as judge, jury and executioner. You Hillier to carry out the attack, with Fulstow's assistance. Fulstow you found the information enabling Mr Smith to be found.
"The plan was to shoot him outside his home and then to pour sulphuric acid on him, then washing crystals to avoid injury to others. False alibis were to be provided." He also added that they showed no remorse after the attack by jetting off on holiday.
Through all of this, the couple continue to blame each other for Liam's death. Howard Bernstein, representing Fulstow, maintains that she never intended to kill Liam. He said the evidence of Hillier should be treated with caution. "The verdicts are facts she must have intended to cause really serious harm. We submit Your Honour cannot be sure she intended to kill him," he said.
The former couple have been sentenced to life in prison (Police handout)Representing Hillier, who has a previous conviction for GBH, Louise Blackwell KC told the court how he acted 'under pressure' from his then-girlfriend. "Of course he took the lead role, he went there and carried out the act. It was under pressure by Fulstow," she said.
"There was not an intention to kill. We ask Your Honour to accept that." She added that the defence will rely on his early guilty plea to manslaughter to mitigate the sentence. She said that there was an intention to inflict GBH rather than an intention to kill.
"He has not denied he was there or took part," she said. "The only issue as far as Mr Hillier was concerned during the trial was that of intent." Ms Blackwell said he was addicted to benzodiazepines, which helps treat anxiety and depression.
Judge Green contined: "Fulstow, you are 37, you had a stable background, and a supportive family. It is almost incomprehensible. Whatever happened between you and Liam Smith can never be justified by [this]."
"Hillier, you are 39, you have a previous conviction for GBH. You also said you lived a criminal lifestyle growing cannabis. The psych report confirms in detail about your appalling background. You had an addiction to benzodiazepines. This offers no mitigation. I do take account of the fact you accept the unlawful killing."
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