Killer who went to Jamaica with assassin boyfriend loses bid to scale back jail time

Rachel Fulstow, 39, was found guilty of murdering electrician Liam Smith in November 2022. Her then boyfriend Michael Hillier shot 38 year-old Mr Smith in the face after luring him out of his home, before dousing his body in sulphuric acid

A woman who conspired to commit murder with her then boyfriend has been denied the opportunity to appeal against her conviction and life sentence.

Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow were both found guilty of the brutal murder of electrician Liam Smith in Shevington, Wigan.

Hillier, a drug dealer, shot the 38 year old father-of-two in the face after luring him out of his home, before covering his body in sulphuric acid in November 2022.

Fulstow, now 39, pleaded not guilty to the charges she faced, but was convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice by a jury following a trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court in August 2023. She received a life sentence, with a minimum term of 30 years.

Hiller, hailing from Sheffield, was handed a minimum sentence of 33 years in prison. He claimed he was seeking revenge after Fulstow, from York, informed him that she had been raped by Mr Smith years earlier during a Tinder date, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The court heard how Fulstow had searched the internet for Mr Smith’s business, his address and phrases such as ‘what is premeditated’ and the time it takes to completely burn a car. Hillier, on the other hand, bought guns online and honed his shooting skills in his cellar.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Maurice Greene stated that the duo ‘decided to act as judge, jury and executioner’. He said Hillier executed the attack ‘with Fulstow’s assistance’ and that Fulstow had ‘found the information enabling Mr Smith to be located’.

Judge Greene revealed that Fulstow had sent messages to fabricate an alibi before she and her partner jetted off to Jamaica following the murder.

Initially interviewed as a witness, Fulstow “repeatedly lied” to police in an attempt to divert the investigation away from herself, according to the judge.

A hearing was held on Friday morning at the Court of Appeal, located within the Royal Courts of Justice. The case was presided over by Lord Justice Males, Mrs Justice McGowan and Mr Justice Dexter Dias.

The court was informed that Fulstow’s appeal was based on ‘four broad headings’.

These included ‘rulings given during the trial’ and a ‘failure to adjourn to allow more time to consider Hillier’s various defence statements’.

Fulstow’s legal team also argued that she was not allowed to call a defence witness and that it was incorrect to let the trial proceed after two jurors were discharged due to the trial overrunning, leaving only 10 jury members.

Furthermore, Fulstow claimed there was new evidence that should be admitted ‘on appeal’, relating to their relationship, and that ‘lawyers had made various mistakes principally relating to decisions not to call witnesses’.

However, the Appeal Court judges stated that the trial judge had ‘dealt with the matters comprehensively’. They noted that a jury of 10 members was ‘permissible’ and the removal of two jurors ‘does not render your conviction unsafe’.

No details regarding the ‘new evidence’ were provided, the court heard.

The Appeal Court judges concurred with the single judge’s decision, denying the application to appeal against the conviction. They quoted the trial judge, stating that Fulstow, although playing a lesser role than Hillier, had been crucial to the offence which ‘started with her’.

They deemed the minimum sentence of 30 years as not being ‘manifestly excessive’. “We have reconsidered the matter for ourselves, but we agree with the conclusion and reasoning of the single judge,” the Appeal Court judges declared.

“The application for leave to appeal against sentence is therefore refused.”

Fulstow, formerly employed by the Hilton and Radisson hotel chains, told the jury she was unaware that her then-boyfriend Hillier intended to shoot Mr Smith. While testifying, she claimed to be ‘petrified’ of Hillier, who would frequently bring up her past relationship with Mr Smith.

She revealed their relationship ended in September 2021 due to Hillier’s abusive behaviour. She lived in fear of him, even after he had once trashed her house.

Fulstow confessed she was ‘too terrified of what he would do’ if she reported him to the police.