Trial continues after Wigan man was shot dead and 'doused in acid'
Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow are both standing trial
Last updated 12th Jul 2023
A murder trial has heard that a Wigan man was shot in the head and then doused in acid by the boyfriend of a woman he had a one-night-stand with.
In prosecution opening, a juries been told that Liam Smith was shot in the face by Michael Hillier, 39, who then poured the corrosive liquid on his face and body.
He was left in the street outside his house with the chemicals still "fizzing" on his body when he was found shortly after the attack in the early evening of 24 November last year.
The court's heard that Mr Smith, an electrician, had had a "brief liaison" with Hillier's co-accused, former nail technician Rachel Fulstow, 37, with a one-night stand in a hotel in 2019.
The next year she became the partner of Hillier, from Sheffield who was not happy about the fling and was "led to believe she had been raped,"
Both Fulstow, from Andrew Drive, York and Hillier, from Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, deny murder.
Prosecutors told the jury the pair had planned the murder and Liam Smith was "executed".
Jason Pitter KC said: "Why do we say that? Well, having been drawn out of his house he was blasted, at probably close range, in the face with a shot from a gun.
"That was fatal, it penetrated his brain and would have brought him instantly to the ground.
"However, he then proceeded to pour acid onto the face and body of Liam Smith, followed by soda crystals.
It's alleged that Mr Smith and Fulstow had the "brief liaison" at a York hotel in 2019 and she became Hillier's partner a year later.
He continued: "It appears that he was not happy about the fact of her having had a one night stand and was led to believe that she had been raped.
"We will wait to see what the precise motivation for the killing of Liam Smith was.
"One proper conclusion is that Liam Smith's brief interaction with Fulstow was in a distorted and extreme way the cause for him being their target.
"In due course she was to go on to say that she believed that she had not consented to have sex with Liam Smith on that night in the hotel in York which she had booked.
Mr Pitter said although Hillier alone carried out the attack, he was not solely responsible for Mr Smith's death.
The prosecution say that he was assisted in the organisation, preparation and execution of the attack by the first defendant, Rachel Fulstow, his then girlfriend."
Jurors were told prosecution evidence includes CCTV and vehicle recognition footage, mobile telephone tracking and internet searches done by Fulstow before and after the murder.
These included online searches for Mr Smith and searching for the meaning of the word, "premeditated" and "barbaric".
Fulstow and Hillier both deny murder.
Hillier has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, Fulstow has pleaded not guilty to the same charge. She also denies a single count of perverting the course of justice.
The trial is continuing at Manchester Crown Court.