Liam Smith: Killer tells family 'your boy's a rapist' as he is jailed

Murderer tells victim’s family ‘your boy’s a rapist’ as he and girlfriend are jailed for total of 63 years for father-of-two’s ‘brutal and cold-blooded’ acid murder after she claimed he sexually assaulted her

• Liam Smith was lured out of his home before being shot and left in the street 
• Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow were today sentenced to life in prison

A murderer who shot an electrician in the face and then doused him in acid taunted his victim’s family for a final time – telling them from the dock, ‘your boy’s a rapist’ as he was jailed for life. 

Drug dealer Michael Hillier tracked down Liam Smith, 38, to his home in Wigan, Greater Manchester on November 24 last year in a depraved murder plot hatched by him and his girlfriend Rachel Fulstow.

Hillier, 39, said he was acting in revenge after girlfriend Fulstow lied that she’d been raped by Mr Smith after a Tinder date three years earlier in September 2019. 

She did not go to the police, and instead the pair instead decided to seek ‘vigilante justice’ by planning Mr Smith’s death over a 10-month period.

Yesterday the pair were convicted of murder by a jury and they appeared again at Manchester’s Minshull Street Cown Court today, where they were jailed for life.

As the pair were taken down, Mr Smith’s sister, Gemma, shouted from the public gallery: ‘You lying, murdering bitch. Liam has done nothing wrong, he’s completely innocent.’

But as he left the dock, Hillier, in handcuffs, said: ‘Your boy’s a rapist.’

Liam Smith, 38, was shot in the face and then had acid poured over him outside his home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on November 24 last year

Rachel Fulstow, 37, who carried out the deranged murder plot with her ex-partner Michael Hilliard, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years 

Michael Hillier, 39, (pictured) has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 33 years for Mr Smith’s murder

Mr Smith’s family shouted ‘monsters’ as the pair left the dock after Fulstow, who was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday.

Hillier was jailed for life and will serve at least 33 years.

The trial heard Fulstow had met Mr Smith in York in 2019.

She said they had ‘non-consensual sex’ at a hotel, but she did not describe it as rape and the pair had lunch the following day. 

Mr Smith’s family fiercely denied the accusation against him and at one time during the trial, the judge cleared the public gallery after an outburst.

Hillier, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, told the court that in early 2022 his then-girlfriend told in him in she was ‘raped’ by Mr Smith in a ‘graphic’ account and together they decided to ‘go down the vigilante route’ to ‘seek justice’.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Maurice Greene said whatever happened on the night appeared to be the underlying motive for the attack.

He said: ‘It was decided between you, you would exact your own vengeance.

‘The two of you decided to act as judge, jury and executioner.’

He described the murder as ‘brutal and cold-blooded’.

Michael Hillier, 39, (pictured), admitted the manslaughter of 38-year-old electrician Liam Smith, but yesterday, a jury convicted him of murder

Rachel Fulstow, 37, (pictured) of Andrew Drive, York, told the court she met Mr Smith in September 2019, after they connected through dating app Tinder. She was convicted of his murder yesterday

Mr Smith’s body was discovered in a village on the outskirts of Wigan on November 24, 2022

Addressing university graduate Fulstow, the judge said it was ‘almost incomprehensible’ that she had acted the way she had.

He added: ‘Whatever happened between you and Liam Smith can never be justification for what you and Michael Hillier did.’

Hillier, who said he was concerned in the production and distribution of a large-scale cannabis operation, had admitted driving to Mr Smith’s home on Kilburn Drive, Shevington, on November 24 and waiting outside in a Mitsubishi Shogun with false number plates.

Just before 7pm, he lured Mr Smith out of the house and shot him with a modified shotgun, pouring acid and then soda crystals over him, the court heard.

Fulstow claimed she knew nothing of the attack until Hillier arrived at her house in Andrew Drive, York, and was ‘petrified’ to go to the police.

But the court heard in the days after the killing the couple went on holiday to Jamaica together.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Smith’s mother, Julia Smith, said he was a ‘devoted father’ to his sons, aged 11 and 14, and a ‘gentleman’.

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

Police were pictured on the scene last year on Kilburn Drive in Shevington, Wigan, Greater Manchester

Police said his body might have been be covered in ‘hazardous substances’

She told the court: ‘We are never going to be able to fill this massive void which has been left in our lives.’

Louise Blackwell KC, defending Hillier, said he would not have carried out the attack were it not for his drug addiction and the influence of Fulstow.

She said: ‘Of course, Mr Hillier took the lead role in the sense that he went and he was the person who carried out the acts but it was under pressure from Fulstow.’

Howard Bernstein, representing Fulstow, said the evidence against her showed her role was to provide information about Mr Smith and an alibi for Hillier.

But, he said the evidence was not inconsistent with her not knowing that her co-defendant had a gun and acid.

In a statement read by Detective Inspector Lee Shaw outside court, Liam Smith’s family said: ‘Liam was more than just a family member to us. He was our rock, our Liam.

‘He had the biggest and most kind-hearted soul and would literally do anything for anyone.

CCTV shows Michael Hillier outside Liam Smith’s home before the murder

The case was adjourned for sentencing tomorrow. Pictured: Forensic teams working the scene in Shevington, Wigan, after Mr Smith’s body was found

‘We are always asking ourselves, why did this happen to Liam? Why do his two boys now have to live with the knowledge that their loving father was taken away from them in the most barbaric of circumstances.’

They added: ‘His name has been tainted throughout this trial and that wasn’t him. It is not our Liam. He has been denied the chance to publicly clear his name. ‘

Detective Chief Inspector Gina Brennand said Liam Smith’s name had been ‘besmirched’ and ‘tainted’ during the trial.

She said: ‘Liam was unable to defend himself throughout this process which made it even more heart-breaking for his family.

‘Whilst sat in court, neither defendant showed any signs of remorse, nor have they recognised the magnitude of what they’ve done and the impact on Liam’s family and ultimately his two boys.

‘I’m relieved that the jury were compelled by the prosecution case, seeing through their lies and deceit and ultimately leading to a very long prison sentence.’

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