Woman accused of plotting Tinder date’s murder denies packing …

A woman accused of plotting the murder of a man she'd been on a Tinder date with denied kissing her boyfriend goodbye, wishing him "good luck" and making him a "packed lunch" before he killed him.

Michael Hillier, 39, has admitted killing dad-of-two Liam Smith, who was shot dead and doused in acid outside his home in Wigan ^[1] in November last year. Hillier's partner, 37-year-old Rachel Fulstow, denies having any involvement in the alleged murder.

They both deny murder, but Hillier has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Jurors at Minshull Street Crown Court have heard Ms Fulstow previously went on a Tinder date with 38-year-old Mr Smith in September 2019, when she claimed she had sexual relations with him, which were "unconsensual", MEN reports ^[2].

Ms Fulstow has alleged Hillier reacted with "anger and rage" after she told him of the incident, which she said she didn’t regard as "rape" and did not report to the police. As she spent a fourth day giving evidence, Ms Fulstow was questioned by Hillier's barrister.

Asking her about the morning of the alleged murder, Louise Blackwell KC put it to Ms Fulstow: "Did you kiss him goodbye in the morning?" "No," she replied.

"Did you wish him luck?," the KC continued. "No," Ms Fulstow replied.

"And that was some time between two and four in the morning?," Ms Blackwell said. "That didn’t happen," the defendant said.

Liam Smith whose body was found dumped in a residential street with "potentially hazardous" substances on his body had been shot and subjected to an acid attack (Image: PA Wire)

"You even prepared a packed lunch for him, didn’t you?," the barrister claimed. "No," she replied.

She also denied that she "got rid" of a bicycle on Hillier's behalf, that she acquired petrol to burn a car or had provided him with clothes. Ms Fulstow has previously claimed the first she heard of Mr Smith's death was when Hillier came to her house the day after and allegedly confessed to killing him.

Ms Blackwell put it to Ms Fulstow: "Did you present him with the news that Mr Smith had died, and Mr Hillier was shocked to hear that?" "No," the defendant said.

Ms Fulstow denied the suggestion she had then 'hugged him because of what he had done for her'. "You were grateful for what he had done for you," Ms Blackwell claimed.

"No," she responded. Ms Blackwell told jurors of a conversation which she claimed took place between the couple. She alleged that Hillier told her: "I knew this wasn’t what we planned, but are you happy that he is dead?"

"Of course I am," Ms Blackwell claimed that Ms Fulstow had responded.

"Who wouldn’t be happy after what he did to me." But Ms Fulstow denied any such conversation ever took place.

Jurors have heard that Hillier and Ms Fulstow went on holiday to Jamaica together days after Mr Smith's death. Ms Blackwell claimed Hillier was "really struggling" during the two week trip and had a "breakdown".

Ms Fulstow denied that "he was finding it very hard to accept that Mr Smith had died". "He couldn’t care less," she claimed.

During cross-examination by prosecution barrister Jason Pitter KC, Ms Fulstow was asked Hillier's attitude towards their relationship. Mr Pitter said Hillier had "criteria", which involved "things that he would expect his woman to comply with".

"In essence, he viewed you as his woman?," he said. "Yeah," the defendant replied.

She accepted she was "content to play that role". "He was in effect your alpha male?," Mr Pitter asked.

"It's not a term I would use, but yes," she replied.

Ms Fulstow, of Andrew Drive, York, has pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and perverting the course of justice. Hillier, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder.

The trial continues.

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References

^{^} Wigan (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^{^} MEN reports (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^{^} Woman, 24, killed in horror morning lorry crash as man arrested (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^{^} Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^{^} Win £200 Aldi shopping voucher to help with your summertime spending (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)