A man has been charged with murdering a man whose body was found shot, doused in acid and dumped in a street. Liam Smith, 38, was found dead on Kilburn Drive in Shevington, Wigan, on 24 November. Michael Hillier, 38, of Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, has been charged with murdering him, Greater Manchester Police said.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Tameside Magistrates’ Court later.
Paying tribute, Mr. Smith’s family described him as “a devoted father” and “a dearly loved, son, brother, uncle, cousin, grandson and friend”. He worked hard as an electrician “to give his boys the best start in life he could possibly give”, they said.
His two young sons “will now have to spend the rest of their lives without their adoring father, and the rest of our family will be forever haunted by this senseless act”. The family appealed for anyone with information to come forward, adding: “Our family has absolutely no idea whatsoever why he was killed. None.
“No family should ever have to go through the extreme depths of grief and confusion that we are going through.”
Police said the wider investigation was continuing and appealed for anyone who saw a dark grey Mitsubishi Shogun Elegance close to Mr Smith’s home on two occasions.
Officers said the car, which had damage behind a rear wheel arch and a lens missing on the front offside fog light, had displayed at least two different registration plates.
Police released CCTV images of the car, which was seen on 2 November with the reg plate EJ57UPE, and on the 24 November when it was displaying R22 ORA.
On the latter occasion it was seen for 10 hours leading up to the night of the death. The force said the true keepers of the plates have no connection to the investigation and its true registration remains unknown.
Source: BBC
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