Drug dealer and ex-girlfriend found guilty of murdering father-of-two in shooting and acid attack
23 August 2023, 22:14
A drug dealer and his ex-girlfriend have been found guilty of murdering a father-of-two in a shooting and acid attack, after she claimed she had 'non-consensual sex' with the victim.
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Michael Hillier, 39, said he planned to attack Liam Smith, 37, alongside his girlfriend Rachel Fulstow, also 37, because Smith had raped her.
But she denied persuading her former partner to carry out the attack and said her sex with Smith was not rape, although it had been "non-consensual".
Mr Smith's family denied Hillier's claim emphatically.
Hillier had denied murder but admitted to the manslaughter of Mr Smith, who was lured from his home, shot and had sulphuric acid poured over him in his final moments.
Fulstow denied murder and perverting the course of justice but was found guilty of both.
Mr Smith's tearful family shouted "yes" and "thank you so much" and hugged each other, as the jury found both defendants guilty of murder on Wednesday.
Judge Maurice Greene told jurors they did not need to decide what happened between Mr Smith and Fulstow.
During his summing up, he said: "As to what really happened on that night we will probably never know and it probably doesn't matter."
The pair will be sentenced on Thursday.
Hillier earlier told the jury he was "concerned in the production and distribution of a large-scale cannabis operation".
He said that Fulstow told him that Mr Smith had "graphically raped" her.
Hillier said: "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.
"It's not surprising given only 1.6% of all reported rapes make it to court."
Hillier claimed he and Fulstow had "bounced around" ideas about how to attack Mr Smith.
He said: "She most definitely saw me as kind of like her knight in shining armour."
Hillier said that he had a modified blank gun, but believed it would only stun Mr Smith, rather than seriously hurt or kill him.
Hillier had told the court that on the day of the killing he drove from his home on Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, to Kilburn Drive in Shevington, where Mr Smith lived and waited there all day, before attacking him at about 6.40pm.
Hillier said he had approached the house because he was not sure if Mr Smith was at home and, after seeing him inside, returned to his Mitsubishi Shogun vehicle, which Mr Smith approached a few minutes later.
He said when Mr Smith approached the car, he opened the door and called him a "vile, disgusting rapist".
He added: "He knew exactly what I was talking about."
Describing the attack, Hillier said: "I didn't want to let Rachel down. I pulled the trigger."
He claimed he believed Mr Smith to be unconscious and then poured a bottle of drain cleaner over him. The court heard that after burning out his car, Hillier returned to Fulstow's home in York where he learnt Mr Smith had died.
He told the court: "I said to Rachel 'I know it's not what we planned but are you happy that he's died?'"
She said 'Of course I'm glad he's died, who wouldn't be after what he did to me'."
Turning to the dock, Hillier added: "Remember saying that, Rachel?"
Fulstow, of Andrew Drive, York, told the court she met Mr Smith in September 2019 after they connected through dating app Tinder.
She said they had sex, which she told the court was not consensual but she did not regard it as a rape.
