A terminally ill man hopes to beat cancer so he can reunite with his wife, even though she has made plans to have him shot, poisoned and blown up on their wedding anniversary.
Ray Weatherall’s 38-year-old wife Hayley plotted with her secret lover – who was also his best friend of 20 years – to kill her devoted husband in a wild series of plots, all of which he survived. Powell’s daughter Heather was also involved.
She and Glenn Pollard were both given life sentences after he was shot in the face, a pool heater explosion and a plan to end his life with sleeping pills and insulin.
The father-of-seven, who has terminal brain cancer, still has the bullet scar and second-degree burns that remind him of the incidents.
But more than five years after she was locked up, Mr Weatherall says he is ‘hanging in’ until Hayley is released in nine years, and has ‘completely forgiven’ her.
Despite his condition, he still makes journeys of over 200 miles every month to see her at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey – and is looking forward to throwing a ‘big party’ when she is finally gone.
“My goal is to survive long enough so that Hayley can be released from prison and she can return home,” he told the newspaper Mirror. “This house is as much hers as it is mine. I can’t wait to have her back. I should have been dead years ago.
Ray Weatherall’s 38-year-old wife Hayley plotted with her secret lover – who was also his best friend of 20 years – to kill her devoted husband in a wild series of plots, all of which he survived. Powell’s daughter Heather was also involved. Pictured: Mr Weatherall in 2018
More than five years after she was locked up, Mr Weatherall says he is ‘hanging in’ until Hayley is released in nine years, and has ‘completely forgiven’ her. In the photo: Together before she ended up in prison
She and Glenn Pollard (pictured) were both given life sentences after he was shot in the face, a pool heater explosion and a plan to end his life with sleeping pills and insulin.
‘It’s a miracle I’m here. My goal is to see her walk through that door. I’ll stay alive long enough for that. People say I’m angry, but I don’t care. I visit her every month and we kiss and cuddle and it’s wonderful.
‘Hayley was brainwashed. She was a fool. She was always easily led astray. And she’s serving a life sentence for that stupidity. But I put all the blame on my old friend Glenn.”
Mr Weatherall says he never wants to see his ex-best friend again, and won’t be invited to Hayley’s release party.
He and Pollard had been friends for more than twenty years and took photographs together.
The faithful husband has previously amazed onlookers for his forgiveness, buying Christmas presents for his wife to enjoy in prison just months after she was jailed.
A family friend told the Mirror he wanted to give her perfume, but because liquids were not allowed in prison, he opted for a Boyzone CD.
Despite a judge calling Mrs Weatherall ‘cold and calculating’ and ‘impatient’ when her husband died, her husband claimed she was ‘made for more than she is’.
Ray had been told he had months to live when Heather, who goes by the name Arthur, shot him in the face as a ‘sniper’ after a series of failed attempts on his life.
Mr Weatherall says he never wants to see his ex-best friend again, and won’t be invited to Hayley’s release party
Despite his condition, he still makes journeys of over 200 miles every month to see her at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey – and is looking forward to throwing a ‘big party’ when she is finally gone. Pictured: her visits to prison in 2019
The father-of-seven, who has terminal brain cancer, still has the bullet scar and second-degree burns that remind him of the incidents. Pictured: An X-ray of Raymond Weatherall’s jaw, with a bullet visible
They included a pool heater explosion that left him with second-degree burns, drowning him while fishing and poisoning him with insulin.
Mr Weatherall remained ignorant that his wife and best friend of 20 years tried to kill him after planning a new life together.
During their trial, Maidstone Crown Court was told that the non-fatal shooting sparked a long and complicated investigation by Kent Police, which uncovered a series of other failed attempts on the man’s life, planned before and after the shooting.
Shortly after they were jailed, Mr Weatherall told Good Morning Britain that Glenn had been the main instigator of the plot and that his wife was ‘involved’.
He said: ‘I’m disgusted with Glenn and his daughter. Glenn was certainly the driver of it all. I’m disgusted that my wife got involved.
“It probably took me two to three months to find out what was really going on. She started to get a little cold towards me.
‘We never had any problems until then. I still don’t understand how she got involved.’
Their plans began to unravel in January after Ray’s niece Emma Worsfold tipped off police that they were trying to kill Ray after learning of the affair.
Mr Weatherall remained ignorant that his wife and best friend of 20 years tried to kill him after planning a new life together.
Shortly after they were jailed, Mr Weatherall told Good Morning Britain that Glenn had been the main instigator of the plot and that his wife was ‘dragged into it’.
Kent police raided their homes and quickly found the bolt-action rifle used to shoot him.
Electrical equipment was analyzed and hundreds of messages between Glenn and Heather were discovered, including how they planned to kill his love rival.
The jury was also told of other events that had endangered the victim’s life between the summer of 2017 and the spring of 2018, which could only be attributed to accidents.
Mr Weatherall was blown up when his burner exploded, was set up to drown on a fishing trip with Pollard, and was suspected of being poisoned.
Glenn Pollard received life with a minimum of 17 years, while the other two received life with a minimum of 15 years.
Heather Pollard was seen laughing in the dock with her father before the verdict was handed down.
Jurors heard the treacherous Pollard had a gun license and ‘brainwashed’ his daughter – who was Mr Weatherall’s great-niece – into firing the ‘sniper’ shot last November.
He was shot in the face at Sandwich Marina in Kent, but survived when the bullet hit his right cheekbone.
Ray was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2015 and the following year was given just 18 months to live on daily insulin injections for his diabetes.