"I still love her" - Dying husband says after his wife and his best friend who were having an affair tried to kill him

A man suffering from cancer has said he still loves his wife even though she had him shot in a murder plot.

Ray Weatherall, 53, had no idea his wife Hayley Weatherall, 32, and his best friend of over 20 years Glenn Pollard were having an extramarital affair and planned to kill him. He was shot in the face with a rifle in Sandwich, Kent, by Pollard's daughter Heather, but he survived.

Ray and Hayley Weatherall

Hayley and the Pollard were jailed for a total of nearly 50 years for the attempted murder.

Ray, a tree surgeon, told The Sun:

I love Hayley, I always have and always will.

He added:

I’m a tough old bugger. Always have been. I’ve managed to survive a lot.

I feel like a cat with nine lives. I’ve probably only got one or two left the way things have been going. I can still laugh. I ain’t lost my sense of humour.

At their trial at Maidstone Crown Court, it was heard that a police investigation revealed that there had been other unsuccessful attempts on the man's life, planned before and after the shooting.

X-ray of Ray Weatherall's face after he was shot

Investigating officer PC Paul Wilson said:

This has been a very complex case and extremely difficult for the victim who is quite frankly lucky to be alive.

He's had to come to terms with the fact that three people close to him who he cared about were so intent on hurting him.

They've also put him through further distress with a long and upsetting trial that has revealed all the despicable actions of these three individuals.

The judge said Hayley Weatherall and Glenn Pollard pursued their affair with intensity, sending each other explicit texts and exchanging sexual photos.

Glenn Pollard

Passing sentence, Judge Adele Williams said:

This was cruelty of a high degree - cold, calculated and chilling cruelty.

You conspired to murder a man because he stood in your way.

That man was your husband, Hayley Weatherall, your best friend of over 20 years Glenn Pollard and your Uncle Ray, your father's best friend and a man you had known all your life, Heather Pollard.

Each of you plotted and planned to kill him with determination and persistence.

Pollard and Weatherall decided the only way they could be together was to kill Ray. 

Hayley Weatherall reportedly told a relative in July 2017:

I can't wait for him to die.

Their schemes began unravelling in January after Ray's niece Emma Worsfold tipped off cops that they were trying to kill Ray, after she learned of the affair.

Kent Police raided their homes and quickly recovered the bolt-action rifle that was used to shoot Ray. Phones and electrical devices were analysed and hundreds of messages were discovered between Glenn and Heather Pollard, including messages about how they planned to kill Ray Weatherall.

Heather Pollard, Glenn's only child

The jury was also told about other events that had threatened the victim's life between 2017 and 2018, which they all thought were accidents, not knowing they were attempts to kill him.

Ray was blown up when his burner exploded. He was also set up to be drowned during a fishing trip with Pollard. According to the plan, Pollard was to push him overboard during a fishing trip on a boat they co-owned. There was also an incidence of suspected poisoning. Glenn Pollard commanded Hayley Weatherall to poison her husband with an insulin overdose.

All three were convicted last week, and sentenced on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. Glenn Pollard got life with a minimum of 17 years while the other two were jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years.