Liam Smith: Murder accused says he aimed to disable victim

A man who shot and threw acid over a father-of-two has insisted his intention was to only disable his victim momentarily.

Michael Hiller, 39, admits killing Liam Smith, 38, outside his Wigan home on 24 November, but denies murder.

He told a jury he used a gun to ensure he could attack Mr Smith with sulphuric acid "without a struggle ensuing so there was no transfer of DNA".

He did not realise the drain cleaner he used was "potentially fatal", he said.

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

The jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court previously heard Mr Hillier used a blank firing gun that he had modified in the attack near Mr Smith's home in Kilburn Drive, Shevington.

Mr Hiller, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, said he was ashamed of his "barbaric actions."

He said: "Myself and Rachel have definitely gone down the wrong route."

He told the court that Ms Fulstow of Andrew Drive, York, had planned the routes to and from Mr Smith's home, obtained the drain cleaner to be used in the attack and "suggested that I sever his penis so he couldn't rape anybody".

During cross-examination, Ms Fulstow's barrister Michael Hayton KC suggested to Mr Hiller his claims she helped plan the attack were "absolute fantasy and not true", which Mr Hillier denied.

Mr Hillier said Ms Fulstow "threw me under the bus to save herself" after she was arrested in connection with the attack.

He has previously told the court the two decided to "go down the vigilante route" when she told him she had been raped by Mr Smith.

Mr Hayton suggested to Mr Hiller that he "became extremely upset and irate" when Ms Fulstow told him she and Mr Smith had had a "one night stand", so she "sought to diffuse the situation by saying it wasn't the happiest of experiences".

Mr Hillier agreed that having sex on a first encounter was a "non-negotiable", and agreed when Mr Hayton suggested, "you like your ladies to be ladies and traditional".

He also agreed when Mr Hayton suggested he did not hold himself to the same standards, telling the court he had had a number of one night stands.

"These are notches on your bed post, but heaven forbid if a woman meets a man and has sex, that's going to make you angry isn't it?" Mr Hayton asked.

"It's not going to make me angry," Mr Hiller said.

Mr Hiller later said "the details of that rape will be forever etched in my mind", adding "I've absorbed her pain".

The trial continues.

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