Man who shot sufferer and poured acid on him mentioned he ‘took vigilante route’

A drug supplier accused of taking pictures a father of two earlier than pouring acid over him as he lay dying has informed a courtroom he and his girlfriend determined to “go down the vigilante route” after she informed him she had been raped.

Michael Hillier, 39, denies the homicide of Liam Smith, 38, however has admitted the manslaughter of the electrician, who was lured from his house in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on November 24 final yr, gunned down and doused with sulphuric acid.

Hillier’s girlfriend Rachel Fulstow, 37, who the courtroom heard met Mr Smith on a Tinder date in 2019, denies homicide and perverting the course of justice.

Giving proof at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester on Monday, Hillier mentioned he met Fulstow on relationship app Hinge in November 2020 and have become “completely besotted” together with her.

Hillier, who informed the jury he was “concerned in the production and distribution of a large-scale cannabis operation”, mentioned his associate “confided” in him in January final yr that she had been “graphically raped” by Mr Smith at a resort.

He mentioned he felt strongly that “a crime as heinous as rape” ought to be reported to the police, however Fulstow insisted she wouldn’t be believed.

He mentioned: “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 stunning given just one.6 % of all reported rapes make it to courtroom.”

Hillier said he asked her to tell him all the details of the incident if he was to carry out an attack on Mr Smith.

He told the court: “I need to know every nitty gritty bit of detail so the attack can be justified.”

Hillier, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, said his friends knew someone had “tasked” him with “harming a rapist”, although they did not all know Fulstow was involved.

He described a friend trying to talk him out of it on one occasion, when Fulstow was also present.

He said: “Rachel mentioned, I can not bear in mind the precise phrases, however she was saying she understands why I used to be doing it, totally helps me, and what I used to be doing was a simply and noble trigger.”

Fulstow, of Andrew Drive, York, has informed the courtroom she met Mr Smith in September 2019 after they related via relationship app Tinder.

She mentioned that they had intercourse, which she informed the courtroom was not consensual however she didn’t regard it as a rape.

She denies persuading her associate to hold out the assault.

Hillier, with a bald head and beard, stared in direction of Fulstow within the dock as he took the oath in the beginning of his proof.

He informed the jury he had struggled with psychological well being points and was hooked on diazepam and sleeping tablets. The trial continues.