A man and his girlfriend went on holiday to Jamaica just a week after he carried out the killing of a dad-of-two.
Liam Smith, 38, was shot at close range by Michael Hillier, 39, who then doused him in acid, burning away his flesh, a jury was told. The electrician, from Wigan, was killed outside his house after having a "one night stand" with Hillier's co-accused, former nail technician Rachel Fulstow, 37, in 2019.
A year after her "brief liaison" with Mr Smith, Fulstow become the partner of Hillier who was not happy about the fling and was "led to believe she had been raped," Jason Pitter KC, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury.
Both Fulstow, from Andrew Drive, York and Hillier, from Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, deny murder. However, Hillier has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
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The court was told in May 2022, Ms Fulstow carried out a search for an electrician in the Wigan area, the MEN reports. Mr Pitter said this could not have been a coincidence, he said: "One conclusion is that attention within the relationship between the defendants was turning onto Liam Smith."
He added: "That use of her telephone we say marks the first significant outward activity towards his killing by them." On November 2 last year, after acquiring a Mitsubishi Shogun car, the court was told Mr Hillier made a trip to Wigan in what Mr Pitter said was 'either the first scoping mission by Michael Hillier, informed by intelligence and information from Rachel Fulstow' or that it was 'an aborted attempt to attack him.'
Before the killing, Ms Fulstow travelled to Sheffield as part of a "convoluted cover story" that Mr Hillier was feeling unwell because of withdrawal from diazepam and that he needed "looking after" Mr Pitter said. At 6am on November 24, Mr Hiller left for Wigan driving the Shogun bearing a false registration plate, the court was told.
A couple of hours afterwards, Ms Fulstow left Sheffield and texted Mr Hiller saying: "Hey sleepy head, I’m back. I didn’t want to wake you when I left as you seemed to be sleeping sound…"
However, Mr Pitter said this was "part of the rouse and false alibi on her part. He had left two hours before she did, which she must have been aware of."
The prosecution say after arriving in Wigan Mr Hillier, who was wearing a head-torch and a high visibility jacket, remained in the area all day before the killing, 'effectively casing the home address of Liam Smith', who ran his own company called LPS Electrical Build Ltd.
At 6:40pm Mr Hillier entered the garden of Liam Smith’s home and approached the house "luring" Mr Smith out, who was last seen alive approaching the Shogun, the court heard.
Mr Pitter said: "We say that was the point at which Hillier shot Liam Smith in the face before pouring what was probably sulfuric acid onto him and then a type of soda crystal, which to a degree would have a neutralising effect but would not stop and did not stop the extensive burning."
His body was discovered a short time later, around 7pm. Mr Pitter told the jury: "Those who found him did not want to touch him or try to help him because of the obvious chemical exposure.
"They describe the chemicals still fizzing on his body. Indeed, when the emergency services did arrive the area was treated as a hazardous area requiring specialist teams to deal with it."
Mr Smith was declared dead at the scene at 9:15pm. A pathologist concluded his cause of death was a gunshot wound. Mr Pitter said the injuries caused by it were "unsurvivable regardless of medical intervention."
It is alleged Mr Hillier and Ms Fulstow 'carried on as normal' following Mr Smith's killing with Mr Pitter saying they "must have believed they had gotten away with it."
In the days following his death, Ms Fulstow carried out internet searches which included searches for news articles regarding the incident and searching for the meaning of the word, “premeditated” and “barbaric.” A week after the alleged attack, both defendants went on holiday for a fortnight to Jamaica, jurors heard.
Mr Hillier was arrested in January this year, with Ms Fulstow initially being interviewed as a witness before being arrested and interviewed as a suspect. She is accused of giving a 'misleading account to police in relation to her involvement and her knowledge of what had occurred.'
Ms Fulstow, of Andrew Drive, York, has pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and perverting the course of justice. Mr Hiller, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder.
The trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks, continues.
