Liam Smith: The murder squad who solved an 'actual whodunnit'

It was a freezing cold and rainy day in November when Det Ch Insp Gina Brennand and Det Insp Lee Shaw were alerted to the discovery of a body covered in a mysterious white powder.

Immediately, this case appeared to be different to any previous investigations that had landed on their desks before.

"I knew the area well," recalled Det Insp Shaw, who was the deputy investigating officer in the case.

"I immediately thought it's 90% elderly around there.

"I know it's a lot of dormer houses and bungalows. It just didn't fit the bill."

A passer-by had spotted the body, which was later identified as 38-year-old Liam Smith, on the pavement while driving down Kilburn Drive - a quiet residential street in the village of Shevington in Wigan shortly before 19:00 GMT on 24 November.

The discovery was as alarming as it was challenging.

It appeared the body had been disfigured with an unknown substance to conceal any clues. At first, officers weren't even sure if it was the body of a man or a woman.

As the rain poured down, forensic officers worked to preserve the crime scene, which was being treated as a chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear incident, bringing an extra layer of complication to the investigation.

This meant both detectives were unable to see the body for the first 24 hours after the discovery.

A number of theories had already been bandied around during this time.

One was that the body had fallen from an aeroplane, another was that the killing had happened at a different location and the body had then been dumped.

It was only after listening to a recording from a nearby house, which captured a loud bang about 15 minutes before the body was discovered, that they were both in no doubt about what had happened.

The loud noise had come from a firearm, shot in close proximity to where they were now standing.

It later transpired the father-of-two, who worked as an electrician, had been lured from his home and shot in the face before acid was then thrown over his face and body as he lay dying.

What followed was one of the most complex investigations the detectives had ever encountered as they tried to find the person or people responsible.

"You very rarely get an actual whodunnit case," said Det Ch Insp Brennand, who was the senior investigating officer on the case. "They're unusual."

It was six weeks before the missing pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.

There had been three main lines of investigation - the victim's background, a Shogun vehicle spotted in the area at the time of the killing and the weapon.

But new dashcam footage of the Shogun vehicle using a different registration plate had now come to light.

It was the breakthrough they had been waiting for.

"It showed a man - later identified as Michael Hillier - doing hostile reconnaissance three weeks before Liam's murder," said Det Ch Insp Brennand.

"That gave us another registration plate and that registration plate took us to Sheffield."

This led detectives to a man who had arranged for the registration plate to be made.

This in turn led to a second man, who it later transpired had been asked by Hillier to organise the purchase.

Both men were arrested but they were quickly ruled out as the killers.

More extensive CCTV inquires followed, focusing on the commercial premises owned by the second man.

They were in luck. The Shogun vehicle was seen pulling up at the premises with the same registration plate used in the reconnaissance trip to Shevington.

They had their suspect - they just needed to identify him.

Hillier, now aged 39, was tracked down to his home and he was taken into custody where he answered "no comment" to all questions.

But his car insurance details identified another person who was registered to the vehicle - Rachel Fulstow, who had been in a relationship with Hillier since 2021.

"We still hadn't ruled out that they had killed the wrong person," said Det Ch Insp Brennand.

"It was so well planned. Definitely a planned hit. It could have been very much a professional planned hit.

"But we couldn't find anything on Liam so it could have been a case of mistaken identity.

"That was a theory for two months until we found out about Rachel Fulstow."

Det Insp Shaw added: "I still remember that phone call.

"His opening words [from the officer] were 'I've got your motive'."

After police arrived at the property, Fulstow, now aged 37, asked if "it was about Liam Smith".

Immediately alarm bells started to ring.

She told officers she had spent the night with Mr Smith in September 2019 after meeting him on the dating app Tinder and then they went for lunch the next day.

At first, Fulstow, who worked for a property management company, was treated as a witness.

But among the incriminating evidence was searches on her computer asking 'how long does it take a car to burn?'

This search was made two days before the murder as well as searches for the victim's name on a local newspaper's website.

At this point, his identity had not yet been confirmed or publicised.

The detectives recalled how Fulstow also failed to give a definitive answer about whether Hillier was at home on the morning of the killing, claiming they slept in separate rooms.

Within four weeks, she had moved from a witness to a suspect. She was arrested and charged with murder along with Hillier.

During the trial, Hillier said they had both planned the attack on Mr Smith after Fulstow told him she had been raped.

He told the court they had "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".

A covert recording of Hillier in prison was also uncovered.

"It told us everything she'd done and he'd done. And that was unsolicited," said Det Ch Insp Brennand.

"That was an excellent piece of evidence."

However, Hillier's claims were disputed by Fulstow in court, who said she did not regard the episode as rape but described it as "non-consensual sex".

She added the first she knew of the attack was when Hillier turned up at her house in York the following morning.

Last week, Hillier and Fulstow were given life sentences at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court after both being found guilty of his murder.

Hillier was told he would serve a minimum of 33 years behind bars while Fulstow was jailed for 30 years.

Det Ch Insp Brennand described it as a demanding investigation due to the complexities of the case but - at the very heart of it - were a family who they were determined to get answers for.

"There are two boys who lost their dad. It's so sad because Liam was a good guy," she said.

Det Insp Shaw added: "You felt like you knew them the more time you spent with the family.

"And they said - from day one - that he's not involved in anything.

"You knew what kind of person he was - a family man.

"It hits you because I've got boys the same age. I'm from the area.

"You really connect with certain investigations and I certainly did with this one."

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