Liam Smith murder probe: Sheffield man charged over death of Wigan dad

A 38-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Wigan dad-of-two, Liam Smith. Mr Smith, 38, was found dead outside his home on Kilburn Drive, Shevington, on the evening of 24 November last year. A post-mortem found he had been shot.

Michael Hillier, 38, of Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, has now been charged with murder. Hillier has been remanded into custody after appearing at Tameside Magistrates today (Tuesday 24 January) and is due before Manchester crown court on Wednesday.

GMP said today they are continuing their ‘complex and wide-ranging’ investigation and want to trace a Mitsubishi Shogun Elegance model in dark grey that was manufactured around 2005 or 2006, seen with reg plates EJ57UPE and R22 ORA.

In a family statement after Mr Smith’s death, he was described as “devoted dad, much loved son, brother, grandson and uncle.” His dad Phil Smith added: “Liam worked and grafted hard as he could as an electrician to give his boys the best start in life he could possibly give. We are therefore sending out a heartfelt plea to anyone with any information to please, please contact the police.”