UK - Ashley Dale, 28 fatally shot at home, Liverpool - 21 Aug 2022

[Alyce]

15:24Jonathan Humphries

Court resumes​

The jury are now being brought back in.

Mr Langhorn: “You were asked to check over the break where Mr Fitzgibbon’s phone was on the evening of the 21st to the morning of the 22nd.”
Mr Tarpey says it was “moving around the South Liverpool area” on the evening of August 21.
JT: “It finished using cells down in the St Michael’s Hamlet, round about Sefton Park.
The following morning, it was still down in that South Liverpool area.”

Zeisz’s number was “also used in the Sefton Park area” on the evening of August 21.

Barry’s phone meanwhile “finished the day in the Sefton Park area, and began the 22nd in the same area”.

Mr Kershaw’s phone “was also in the Sefton Park area”.

Mr Tarpey says Peers’ phone “was used in the St Helens area”, in the area of the Mercure Hotel.


Peter Wright, KC, will now question Mr Tarpey on behalf of Joseph Peers.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Alyce]

15:48Jonathan Humphries

'Kyle Line'​

Mr Wright rises and asks: “You’ve got his data for the entirety of the day. There is no location of his phone in the Sefton Park area.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.
PW: “He could not be co-located with others in this case.”
JT: “Not in the Sefton Park area.”

Mr Wright asks him to “go back in time a little”.
He says the Peers and Witham phones were identified as having used the O2 network, and Mr Tarpey agrees.

PW: “It may be during the use of a phone there may be some transmission from one cell site to another. It may be consistent with movement, but may be during the phone being attached to the network, the phone itself may move between cell sites.”
JT: “Generally it requires a little movement, but it doesn’t require significant movement if you’re in the boundary. Moving around a room, moving up and down the street.”

PW: “August 15 is a day we have heard evidence about, concerning a trip to Sale and the acquisition of the Hyundai vehicle. So far as Mr Peers is concerned, you dealt with the analysis of the raw data held by the network provider.
On the date it is alleged that the grey Hyundai car used in the shooting was purchased in Sale, there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Peers or his phone travelled to Manchester.
JT: “The phone was used in Liverpool throughout the afternoon.”
PW: “The data is consistent with the user of that phone being in the Liverpool area during that period of time.”
JT: “Yes.”

PW: “Then can we turn to August 19, a trip to North Wales.”
Mr Wright asks for a map of the Merseyside and North Wales area to be shown to the jury.
PW: “That afternoon, there appears to be the movement of phones consistent with the phones and the Hyundai travelling to North Wales. In particular to the Rhyl area. One of those phones is the Peers phone.
There is some activity involving a phone, it’s referred to as the Kyle Line. The final digits at 1457. It is cell sited in the same area as the Peers phone.”
The jury are shown CCTV of the Hyundai in the North Wales area and a map plotting the address of Cathy Doyle and the location of the “Kyle Line”.
PW: “The Kyle Line makes two voice calls at 16.34 and 16.39 to a number attributable to a Cathy Doyle.”

Mr Tarpey is asked who could be responsible for making those calls.
PW: “There is no call identified from the Kyle Line to the Peers phone, is there?”
JT: “I don’t think so.”
PW: “There is use of the Peers phone, which has an incoming phone call to it at 16.37. That call is one minute and 46 seconds long. It would conclude at 16.39.39. In respect of the second of those Kyle Line calls, it is a call that is in progress when the Kyle Line is making the second call.”
JT: “Yes, the two calls are happening at the same time.”

Mr Wright asks for CCTV footage showing Peers on the phone in a Co-op store in Pensarn at this time to be shown to the court.
PW: “That image is consistent with him receiving the call that was incoming, that was one minute and 46 seconds long.
In other words, there’s no evidence here that tends to suggest he is the user of the Kyle Line phone during this period.”
JT: “He’d have to be making two calls at the same time.”

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Alyce]

15:49Jonathan Humphries

'Aeroplane mode'​

Mr Wright turns to August 20.
The jury are shown a map plotting the location of the flat on Pilch Lane and cell siting data for phones including Peers’ at 20.53.
Mr Tarpey agrees that this would be “consistent with him being in that flat at that time”.

Mr Wright says the next activity on his phone is at 23.09.
PW: “There is a period of roughly two hours.”
JT: “I have the last time at 21.09.”
Mr Wright asks for CCTV footage of Witham and Peers exiting the flat at 22.10 to be shown to the jury.
Peers phone is shown using cells “consistent with it being at 267 Pilch Lane” before, at 21.09, “it appears to have been switched off”.
PW: “You don’t say that it was switched off, you say it appears to have been switched off. That, I am assuming, is a deliberate use of that phrase.”
JT: “There are times when you can say it is definitely switched off, but at this time there are no records. It’s probably gone off, but I can’t say it was definitely switched off.”
PW: “It’s consistent with it being switched off, but we can’t say it was.”
JT: “We can’t say for certain.”
PW: “There may be other reasons why the handset appears no longer to be connected to the network.”
JT: “Most involve it either running out of battery or the user switching it off or putting it into aeroplane mode.”
PW: “You could still use your phone, in aeroplane mode, to take photographs or listen to music or play games?”
JT: “Yes, any of those things as long as they’re not online or streaming.”
PW: “All transmitting is disabled. Your phone is no longer transmitting a radio signal. That’s why you say the phone appears to have been switched off until 23.09. You can’t say for certain that it was.”
JT: “No.”

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Alyce]

16:06Jonathan Humphries

Last of today's evidence​

Mr Wright continues: “If we return to the material before the jury, we have captured the two men leaving Pilch Lane at 22.10.
Then, we have CCTV from various locations around Broad Green Road. Also, we’ve got the precise location of Glen Road.”

The jury are shown a map plotting these locations.

PW: “A grey Hyundai i30N Performance and a red Volkswagen were captured on Broad Green Road in the direction of Oak Hill Road. There’s footage on Broad Green Road showing what is asserted to be the Hyundai and Volkswgaen travelling along Broad Green Road before turning right onto Glen Road.

"At 22.20.35, there are images showing the Hyundai and Volkswagen travelling along Glen Road in the direction of Monterey Road. A minute later, the vehicles making the return trip in the opposite direction. Then emerging onto Broad Green Road and being captured by the same camera which captured them going into that junction at 22.10.

You have been asked about the movement of the phone attributed to Mr Witham. Once we have cleared up the confusion about the erroneous purported sighting of the vehicles at 22.15.45, there is no longer that period of time that you were referring to that elapses here when the vehicle is not captured on CCTV and the mobile phone of Mr Witham appears to be elsewhere.”

JT: “All the calls Mr Witham’s phone made during this period from 22.18 and 22.23 was away from the Broad Green Road area.”
PW: “It is utterly inconsistent with that phone being in that Hyundai vehicle, in and around Broad Green Road at this time.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.

Another map plots cell siting hits for Witham’s phone in the Longview area, “some significant distance away”.

PW: “It’s utterly inconsistent with the Witham phone having travelled from Pilch Lane to Broad Green Road in the Hyundai, and after going in and out of the area around Glen Road and then emerging onto Broad Green and turning left. It’s utterly inconsistent before and after the event with that phone being in that vehicle at that time.”

JT: “It doesn’t look like it’s possible.”

PW: “It’s simply impossible.”

JT: “Probably, yes.”

PW: “It was in actual use during this period.”

JT: “There was a text message at 22.18 and another at 22.23. There were no voice calls.”

Mr Wright says there is a text from Witham to Fitzgibbon at 22.23, followed by a response, then another text from Witham to Fitzgibbon.
PW: “We see what appeared to be three communications by and from the Witham phone.”

A map shows where the phone was cell siting at this time, and Witham’s home address.

PW: “There appears to be further activity at 22.43 and 22.47 and 22.49. That doesn’t mean he or the phone is necessarily going from west to east and back west again. It depends which cell site is the best server for the connection at that particular time.”

JT: “Yes.”

PW: “What you can’t do is work out a general line of travel simply from the cell sites there.”

JT: “No. It’s moving around the Huyton area.”

PW: “The Witham phone makes three voice calls to a number attributed to a Barry Westall. By now Mr Witham is cell sited in L14. It’s the migration of the radio signal, not the migration of the person with the phone.”

JT: “Yes.”

PW: “There is further activity with the Witham phone before we come to the ANPR hit at 23.07, which one can identify as migration of movement. We know that the vehicle bearing that registration number was travelling from west to east, from Liverpool towards Roby and Huyton. Going out of town.”

JT: “Yes.”

PW: “And away from where the cell siting of Mr Witham’s phone had been.”

JT: “Not really. It’s still in the same general part of Huyton Mr Witham had been.”

PW: “Not Old Swan.”

JT: “No.”

PW: “It’s not even close to Old Swan. You have actually identified, on the maps, the location of the defendant Mr Peers’ home address.”

Mr Wright says this is a short distance north of the ANPR camera.


That is all the evidence that will be heard today.

Justice Goose asks for the jury to return at 10.30am tomorrow.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

10:57ELLEN KIRWIN

Cell siting data for Witham and Peers phones plotted on map​

The jury are shown a map plotting an ANPR hit “capturing the travel of the vehicle bearing that registration number, consistent with it being the Hyundai that had been purchased in Sale”.
It is shown travelling eastwards from Roby towards Huyton at 11.07pm.
Cell siting data for the Witham and Peers phones is also plotted.
PW: “There is a footpath that goes from the road towards the estate, and indeed the defendant’s home address. There is activity from 23.09 involving the Peers phone. Between 23.09.46 through until 23.11.08, there is an attachment in respect of that phone to the network. Is that correct?”
JT: “It is, yes.”
PW: “There is a consistency of all of those cell sites providing the best server during the period which it is attached to the network.”
JT: “That’s right, yes.”
PW: “It doesn’t indicate any travel south.”
JT: “Not during this period. During this period, there is no movement south.”
PW: “Just to provide a note of caution. Is it correct there is an imprecision about that in respect of the precise time that activity can be interpreted as occurring?”
JT: “There is yes. Basically, on data calls the way the system records the cell used doesn’t exactly match the time the cell is used. It’s some time in the data session that it’s connected. The time given for a data record is approximate. When you have one or two on their own, there is ambiguity.”
PW: “Bearing in mind there had been an early period of time where the mobile phone was not attached to the network, it may have been turned off or it may have been put on aeroplane mode, this may indicate the phone having been on aeroplane mode is reconnected to the network. It’s a simple exercise. It takes but a moment to do.”
JT: “Yes.”
PW: “That activity would appear to have taken place in the area after the ANPR sighting of that vehicle going from west to east, travelling towards Roby in the close vicinity of Mr Peers’ home address. So far as the cell sites are concerned, these are sites that serve Woodlands Road and the surrounding area.”
Mr Tarpey says of two masts the phone connected to: “Those sectors definitely provide best server coverage at Woodlands Road.”
But he adds that the “southern cell site does not”.
JT: “At 23.10 it uses one in Huyton. At 23.11, there are no further records until 43 minutes past midnight. It suggests it did move southwards, but precisely when we cannot say.”
Mr Tarpey agrees that the 23.10 cell site would be close to Peers’ home address.

11:23ELLEN KIRWIN

Peers phone could have been 'switched off, put on air mode or run out of battery'​

Mr Wright turns to a period between 1am until 1.17am, then 1.18am until 1.27am.
He asks for CCTV to be shown to the jury, images of Withan and Peers “very close to 267 Pilch Lane” at 1.25am and “very close to the cell site at that location”.
The footage is captured at the Go Local store, with the two men walking from the direction of Page Moss Lane before entering the flat.
Mr Wright says Mr Tarpey’s report states that Peers’ phone was found to have “used cells providing best coverage at Woodlands Road”.
He continues to read from the report: “I was informed two men believed to be Joseph Peers and James Witham were seen entering 267 Pilch Lane at 1.25. This sighting does not correlate exactly with the use of the phone attributed to Joseph Peers, but the user could have been one of the men seen. Can you help us with what you mean by that?”
JT: “There isn’t a record exactly at 1.25 when the people were seen. A few minutes earlier it is using the cell providing coverage at Woodlands Road, and a few minutes after the cell providing coverage at Pilch Lane.”
At 23.10, there was a 23 second call from Zeisz to Peers.
Mr Wright says his client’s phone is “migrating between” two masts in Huyton and Longview, as well as the “outlier” further south.
PW: “There has been a short reconnection with the network. It’s during that very brief period of time that there is a call that is received. 23 seconds in length, from the Zeisz phone to the Peers phone. What we don’t appear to get is that phenomenon where you put your phone back on, you get built up messages arriving in a cluster. It comes on, there’s a single activity there before the final activity on the phone recorded at 23.11. But we have to treat that with a degree of circumspection. The phone is receiving a call.”
JT: “Yes.”
PW: “On any view, shortly after that event this phone then is not connected to the network.”
JT: “Some time not long after that, it’s disconnected from the network until after midnight.”
PW: “There are a number of possibilities.”
JT: “It could be turned off, it could be put into aircraft mode or run out of battery.”
PW: “You’ve got three possibilities. It may have been physically switched off, put on air mode or it may have run out of battery. What it couldn’t have done, it couldn’t have run out of battery and then reconnected unless it had been charged.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.
PW: “It is consistent with, earlier, the phone being put on aeroplane mode then reconnected to the network somewhere in the vicinity of that church, a phone call being received and the phone running out of battery.”
JT: “Yes, though that would require a charge to be found after midnight.”
PW: “Yes, his home is a stone’s throw away.”
JT: “Yes.”
Mr Tarpey confirms there was no record of a “detach, an indicator that the mobile is detaching from the network”.
He adds: “That makes it difficult to say how the mobile was disconnected.”
PW: “It would be dangerous to come to any firm conclusion how it was that it detached from the network.”
JT: “It could have been any of those options.”
PW: “If there had been a manual disconnection of the phone from the network, would one expect there to be a detach?”
JT: “Sometimes you will get one, sometimes you won’t. It’s hard to say.”
PW: “If the phone ran out of battery, would one expect there to be a detach?”
JT: “That depends on the phone. It depends on whether the phone runs out of battery in an organised way. If the phone recognises its running out of battery, you would expect a detach.”
PW: “The more likely is it simply ran out of battery.”
JT: “I wouldn’t say that.”
PW: “It’s not possible to reach a firm conclusion.”
JT: “Both are possible.”
Mr Wright says there was then an “attach” at 12.43am.

11:36ELLEN KIRWIN

More details of Peer's phone cell sites​

At 11.18pm, the grey Hyundai is seen on CCTV on Childwall Lane.
At 11.11pm, Witham’s phone cell sites nearby.
Mr Wright says there is “nothing to suggest” Witham and Peers’ phones are “colocating at that time”, and the witness agrees.
JT: “The Witham phone is in the area around Pilch Lane and Childwall Lane at 23.11.42. There’s nothing to suggest the Peers phone is in that area at that time. It doesn’t look as if they’re together.”
There are then sightings of the Hyundai “moving into the area around Old Swan”.
Mr Wright turns to the period between 12.29am and 12.47am.
At 12.33am, the Hyundai is seen turning onto Prescot Road from Leinster Road after the shooting and then travelling east.
PW: “It’s only nine minutes later at 12.43.22 that the phone then attaches to the network. Each of those activities from 12.43 to 12.47 are entirely consistent with the phone being in Woodlands Road.”
JT: “Yes, or that area.”
PW: “Of course, the mobile does not use any cell to suggest it was used in the Old Swan area.”
JT: “There are no records at all around that time. We can’t say where it was.”
PW: “Between 00.48 and 00.59, the cell siting is consistent with the phone at Woodlands Road.”
JT: “Yes.”
PW: “And inconsistent with being in the vicinity of Pilch Lane.”
JT: “I agree.”
PW: “The records are consistent, with between 01.00 and 01.22, providing best server coverage at Woodlands Road. At 01.32, consistent with being at Pilch Lane.”
JT: “Yes.”
Mr Wright says that, between 1.18am and 1.19am, there are “examples of migration of cell site, not migration of phone”.
Mr Tarpey says of this: “All of those cells were found to provide coverage around Woodlands Road. The phone may have been moving, but not necessarily.”
Mr Wright refers back to the CCTV footage at 1.25am, when Peers is seen walking into the Pilch Lane flat with Witham.
He says the cell siting data is then “consistent with him being at Pilch Lane”.
Footage then shows him leaving at 3.16am.

11:38ELLEN KIRWIN

Court takes a short break​

Mr Wright turns to the “early afternoon” of August 21.
He says the “last recorded event” on Peers’ phone is at 1.15pm, until it is back in use at 7.57pm.
JW: “The phone may have been switched off. It may have been on aeroplane mode.”
PT: “Or the battery may have run out.”
JW: “You’re ahead of me. No further questions.”
The court will now take a short break before Mr Forte questions the witness.
The jury are asked to return at 11.50am.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legal]

Thanks for posting! I hope all this mobile evidence, both from the defendants and Ashley's own messages, is enough to persuade the jury to convict.

 

[Legally Bland]

12:09ELLEN KIRWIN

Tim Forte cross-examines on behalf of Sean Zeisz​

The jury take their seats again, and Tim Forte will cross-examine Mr Tarpey on behalf of Sean Zeisz.
He asks about “billing obtained from the service provider”.
TF: “We can see calls originating and terminating. We can get calls forwarded, that means no connection made but gone on to voicemail. Same from SMS, originating and terminating - outgoing and incoming. Mobile data events, they’re not necessarily as straightforward but often the most frequent events.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.
TF: “It can be the user surfing the internet, sending an email, using WhatsApp. It can also be an automatic thing, an app on the phone or the network.”
Again, Mr Tarpey agrees.
TF: “We can say from a call record whether it’s been activated by a user, we can’t with data records.”
JT: “That’s right.”
TF: “Call received, if it’s actually answered, we can assume someone has answered that phone and held a conversation. SMS terminating, we don’t know whether that has been received by the user.”
JT: “We don’t know if anyone has looked at it or been with the phone at the time.”
TF: “These things can demonstrate that a phone is not off.”
Mr Tarpey says that an incoming phone call that is not answered could also demonstrate this.
TF: “Gaps in usage, we can’t say the phone is definitively off.”
JT: “No.”
TF: “Could it be out of signal.”
JT: “It could.”
TF: “Unusual in this day and age, but deep in the bowels of a building.”
JT: “It’s possible.”
Mr Forte turns to cell siting evidence and asks Mr Tarpey to look at bill data obtained for Zeisz’s phone.
He displays a chart to the jury showing this jury and a map plotting cell siting data.
TF: “We’re looking at half past one on that afternoon (August 21). The billing has the Zeisz phone using the mast just above Sefton Park. At 13.32.”
JT: “Yep.”
TF: “Then, at 13.34, L15 5AH.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.
TF: “We see the green area just below, I think that’s Sefton Park. Then at 13.46, the Huyton area. Moving on, at 14.26, that’s still in the L369GF. Then we have a gap until 17.12, it’s now in L14.”
Mr Tarpey agrees.
The phone is then connected to a mast in the Dovecot area
TF: “Those four cells we see creating a rectangle. Mr Zeisz’s phone remains within that for at least five minutes. Then the billing has him, at 17.31 to 17.40, around Pilch Lane.”
Mr Tarpey is asked whether a mast would provide-coverage for Grange Close.
“It’s possible. I can’t say for certain but it’s possible.”
That concludes Mr Forte’s cross-examination.
Mr Langhorn has some questions for Mr Tarpey in reexamination however.

12:36ELLEN KIRWIN

Peer's phone "goes quiet at 23.11. It’s next connected at 00.43"​

Prosecution junior Alex Langhorn shows the court CCTV of Witham and Peers leaving Pilch Lane at 10.10pm.
Mr Tarpey confirms that Peers’ phone has not been connected to the network for around an hour at this time.
AL: “Can we say where Mr Peers’ phone was?”
JT: “There are no records for it.”
Mr Langhorn turns to 11.09pm.
AL: “When Mr Peers’ phone connected back to the network, where was it?”
JT: “In an area of Huyton which would include both the ANPR siting and the home address of Woodlands Road.”
AL: “It could have been in either.”
JT: “Or elsewhere in that area.”
Witham’s phone is said to be using a mast “close to Pilch Lane” at 11.11pm.
AL: “Does that cell serve any other address?”
JT: “That cell serves Woodlands Road and Pilch Lane.”
AL: “Mr Witham’s phone could be connected anywhere in the area of Woodlands Road, Pilch Lane or anywhere in between. It wouldn’t be right to say they couldn’t in the same area?”
JT: “No.”
AL: “Given the limitations of cell site, can you say anything other than that is the general area a phone would be?”
JT: “I can’t.”
AL: “Does that cell siting help us with the CCTV siting at all?”
JT: “The 23.11 on Mr Witham’s phone is four minutes after the CCTV sighting, it was in an area that probably includes the CCTV sighting.”
Mr Tarpey is asked about whether Mr Peers’ phone is seen cell siting at 23.18.
JT: “No, we don’t. The phone goes quiet again at 23.11. It’s next connected at 00.43.”
Mr Langhorn says the Hyundai is seen on CCTV on Prescot Road after the shooting.
The Peers phone is then cell siting “in the Huyton area, to the north of Woodlands Road and Pilch Lane”.
AL: “Could it have been in the area which the Hyundai was seen at 00.34?”
JT: “Probably not. There is another cell between that cell and the sighting. The sighting is nine minutes before the cell is switched on.”
AL: “When it turns back on, does that cell serve the area around East Prescot Road?”
JT: “It does, yes. That cell is just north of East Prescot Road.”
AL: “Can you say precisely where the phone was?”
JT: “No.”
That concludes Mr Tarpey’s evidence.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

12:44ELLEN KIRWIN

Damage of Ashley Dale's car examined​

Mr Greaney calls forensic scientist Adam Wilson to give evidence concerning damage found on the tyres of Ashley Dale’s car.
He says that “detail from the blade can be imparted into the cut”, allowing the type of knife used to be identified.
PG: “In some cases, you will have an area of damage and an implement. You will be able to compare them and come to a view of whether that knife has caused that damage.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
Mr Greaney says the knife or knives used in this instance have not been recovered, but adds: “Is it the position that you are able to provide some assistance by describing the nature of the blade or blades which caused the damage and whether the same knife has been used to cause the damage to all three damage.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
The jury are shown pictures of a knife.
PG: “This is just an example of a knife to enable the witness to explain the point he is going to make.”
Mr Wilson describes how the “depth of the blade” is what would be referred to as the width of the implement.
The jury are shown pictures of Ms Dale’s Volkswagen T-Roc parked on Leinster Road and its “deflated tyres”.
Mr Wilson confirms that he received three of the car’s tyres to examine.
These were the tyres from the front offside, rear offside and rear nearside.
PG: “Did each of those tyres bear signs of a knife mark?”
AW: “Each tyre had a cut to the side wall.”
PG: “Two tyres on one side, the offside, have knife marks. And one tyre on the other side?”
AW: “Yes.”
PG: “Did you take any steps to assist you in your work of examination?”
AW: “In addition to measurements and photographs, I also took silicon rubber casts of the cut.”
He says the cast can then be viewed under a microscope.
Mr Wilson is handed the three casts he took.
Mr Greaney says two “appear similar”, while one is “different”.
AW: “Two of them, the length of those cuts is much greater than the (other) cut.”
The casts are then shown to the jury.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

13:00ELLEN KIRWIN

Wilson believes two blades "in terms of shape and size" were used​

PG: “Let's look at each of the affected tyres in turn. We are looking at PS10, the tyre removed from the front offside of the vehicle.”
The jury are shown photographs of the tyre.
AW: “There’s an incision to the side wall. That is the area of interest that I’ve considered.”
PG: “Were you able to form a view about the type of implement used?”
AW: “From the examination of that cut, I was able to determine it was a single edged blade that has a smooth or round finish rather than a serrated finish. In addition, the cut appears to be from a stab action. The blade is approximately 90 degrees to the side wall, and has been pushed in. The length was measured to be 32mm.”
PG: “What did that suggest about the blade depth used to inflict that damage?”
AW: “In my opinion, the implement would have a blade depth of approximately 30mm.”
PG: “Did you find anything that may come from the blade itself?”
AW: “No.”
PG: “Obviously sometimes a blade may break away in the course of a stabbing motion.”
“Nothing was found.”
Mr Greaney turns to “PS11, the tyre from the rear offside”
PG: “What are we seeing in the photograph this time?”
AW: “You can see there is a darker line to the side wall. This is the cut of interest.”
PG: “Were you able to deduce anything about the implement used to inflict this damage
AW: “From examination of this cut, it was found to have been made by a single edged blade which had a smooth finish to it.”
PG: “What was the length of the cut?”
AW: “This cut was measured to be 32mm.”
PG: “The same length as PS10.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “The tyre on the same side. What did that lead you to conclude?”
AW: “In my opinion, the depth of the blade was approximately 30mm.”
PG: “Did you form a view about whether the damage to those two tyres had been caused by the same or different blades?”
AW: “The two casts were compared with each other. The detail was found to correspond with each other. It’s my opinion those two cuts had been made by the same implement.”
PG: “On the offside of the vehicle, damage to the two tyres caused by the same blade.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “In PS11, did you find within the cut anything that may have come from the blade?”
AW: “Nothing else was found.”
Mr Wilson adds: “PS11 was also done in a stabbing motion.”
Mr Greaney turns to “PS12, the tyre from the rear nearside of the vehicle”.
PG: “Did the damage enable you to reach a conclusion about the motion used?”
AW: “This cut appears to have been made in a stabbing motion.”
PG: “Did the damage to PS12 enable you to reach a conclusion about the type of blade used?”
AW: “This cut appears to have been made by a single edged blade which has parallel edges. Some knives taper towards the point. This one appears to be much more parallel.”
PG: “Were you able to measure the length of that cut?”
AW: “The responsible blade would be approximately 5mm in depth.”
PG: “That’s a sixth of the depth of the blade used to damage the tyres on the other side.”
AW: “Yes.”
PG: “Was it your conclusion the damage on the other side of the car had been caused with the same or a different blade from that which caused the damage?”
AW: “In my opinion, the damage to PS12 has been caused by a different blade from the other two tyres.”
PG: “On the offside, both tyres damaged with one blade. On the nearside, one tyre damaged with a different blade.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “A different blade in terms of shape and size.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “Were you able to form any view about the type of blade that caused the damage to PS12?”
AW: “It’s likely to be a very small blade, possibly similar to those which are found on pen knives.”
PG: “Did you discover any part of that blade within the cut on the nearside?”
AW: “No.”

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

13:18ELLEN KIRWIN

"The cuts showed no sign of a tip being broken off a blade"​

Richard Pratt KC will now cross-examine the witness for Witham.
Mr Wilson says the “tyre was the main point of interest”, and he did not take the tyre off the wheel in order to carry out his examination.
RP: “It is not a knife with a serrated blade.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
RP: “At possibly its widest point, its width will be at least 30mm.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
RP: “You can’t tell us that as it travels, it may have a very sharp point. It may gradually move out to that 30mm point or be effectively parallel.”
AW: “It would still leave a width of 30mm.”
RP: “From tip to the widest point, you wouldn’t be able to describe that knife?”
AW: “I would be able to say which sort of blade it was.”
RP: “It’s not serrated. Beyond that, could you give a description?”
AW: “No.”
RP: “When a tyre is injured in this way it will, provided that the knife penetrates the full depth of the tyre, it will cause deflation. An immediate expulsion of air.”
AW: “Yes.”
RP: “Depending on the air pressure within the tyre, it could be fairly substantial and sudden.”
AW: “The air would be lost, that’s all I can say.”
RP: “A tyre does not have uniform depth does it? A tyre will be different depths at different points of the tyre. The top is not the same as the side.”
AW: “The tread will have a different depth than the side wall.”
RP: “Did you measure the depth of the side wall?”
AW: “No.”
RP: “Isn’t that important? The knife would have to be long enough to penetrate the side wall. You don’t know how deep it is.”
AW: “In my opinion, that doesn’t assist in my examination to determine the type of implement used.”
RP: “What’s the typical depth of a side wall?”
AW: “I can’t give you that information.”
RP: “Have you examined damage to tyres in the past?”
AW: “I have.”
RP: “Have you ever taken the step to examine the depth of the side wall to see the length of the side wall?”
AW: “It’s not part of the comparison.”
RP “You say two separate implements caused the three areas of damage we see. I’m going to ask you to consider this. So far as PS12 is concerned, the much smaller cut caused by a blade at its widest point at 5mm. It has been sufficiently long to penetrate the entirety of the side wall. How extensive was your examination looking for component parts?”
AW: “It was just in the area of the damage.”
RP: “You didn’t look anywhere else in the wheel assembly?”
AW: “No.”
RP: “If the knife which caused damage to PS12 became broken and only caused the very small injury we see, is that the possible mechanism for the damage to PS12? We have a length of damage of 5mm. If the knife breaks at a point of 5mm, would that be consistent with the injury to PS12?”
AW: “The detail was typical of a round finish blade. Had the knife been damaged, the detail would have been very different.”
RP: “But if the knife was smooth upon entry and breaking during the action, would that not provide the same detail?”
AW: “If the knife broke during that action, I would expect the tip to have been left in that cut.”
RP: “There would be an expulsion of air that could blow back a broken part.”
AW: “That’s a possibility.”
RP: “You won’t be able to tell us in what order these tyres were damaged.”
AW: “No.”
RP: “I’m going to suggest a blade of a knife having broken, if the remainder of the knife has a width at its widest point of 30mm that could cause the damage to PS10 and PS11. The tip has been broken off at around that point where it’s 5mm in width. If that knife has further down, closer to the handle, a width of 30mm that could cause the damage to PS10 and PS11.”
AW: “In my opinion no. It needs a sharp tip. The cuts showed no sign of a tip being broken off a blade.”
RP: “It would still show itself not to have a serrated edge wouldn’t it?”
AW: “Are we talking about a knife that has a broken tip to cause those two cuts? In my opinion the detail showed no sign of having been caused by a broken tip.”
RP: “The tip has gone.”
AW: “For those cuts to be made, the knife must have had a tip present.”
RP: “It is sharp if you break the tip of a knife.”
AW: “No, it results in a flattened end.”
RP: “A knife which doesn’t have a tip would not be sharp enough to penetrate a tyre?”
AW: “The tip of a knife is the starting point of the cut. Without that tip being present, it is difficult to start that cut.”
RP: “Would you accept that what is left would be sharp or blunt?”
AW: “These cuts to PS10 and PS11 would have to have been cut by a blade that has a tip in tact.”
RP: “Why could it not be where the tip has been removed, a sharp edge being thrust with force?”
AW: “Had such a scenario taken place, it would have been reflected in the detail in those cuts.”
RP: “How does the detail change?”
AW: “In my opinion there was no detail to indicate that a broken edged blade has caused those areas of damage.”
RP: “Does it not depend on how the blade breaks off?”
AW: “A jagged edge would leave very different detail to the round finish.”

13:20ELLEN KIRWIN

Wilson's questioning concluded​

Mr Greaney reexamines the witness.
PG: “Were all of your findings consistent with different blades having been used on different sides of the car?”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “The second hypothesis would require a series of events. First, on the nearside the tip of the blade would have had to be sufficiently long to penetrate the side wall leaving a length of damage of only 5mm. For the defence thesis to be right, that would mean the part of the blade that penetrated could not be wider than 5mm.”
AW: “That’s correct.”
PG: “Do you regard that as likely?”
AW: “No. In my opinion, the blade has a parallel profile. I’m unable to comment on the length of that blade.”
PG: “You would have expected to find the tip in the cut?”
Mr Wilson agrees.
PG: “Let’s imagine the tip has been broken off and we have been left with a broken knife used to attack the other side of the car. You have found nothing that is consistent with that theory?”
AW: “That’s correct.”
Mr Wilson agrees that the detail of the cut would have been different in this instance.
That concludes his questioning.
Mr Greaney says there is a legal issue to be resolved this afternoon, and Justice Goose asks the jury to return at 2.30pm.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Thanks for the updates.

Fell a bit flat there, trying to suggest it was only one blade and the differences were because the tip might have broken off.

 

[bobbymkii]

Do we think the Crown are close to resting their case-in-chief yet? What else do we need to hear from them?

 

[Legally Bland]

14:45JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

PC on unrelated call out spotted alleged murder car​

The jury are brought back in, and Alex Langhorn, junior counsel for the prosecution, calls Merseyside Police constable Sam Ward to give evidence. PC Ward takes the oath and confirms his name and rank.
He confirms that he was on duty on October 9 last year, and attended an address Waring Avenue in St Helens after being called to “reports of a domestic incident”.
Mr Langhorn says the incident was “unrelated to this case”.
He is asked what he noticed at the scene.
SW: “I immediately noticed a vehicle parked next to the house. It was a vehicle I believed to be of interest. It had been circulated as part of our briefings we have on a daily basis as being involved in some way in the murder case. I then dealt with the domestic side of the incident, after that’s all been sorted I came outside and performed a PNC check on the vehicle.”
Footage from the officer’s body worn camera is played to the court.
Referring to the footage on the screen, PC Ward says: “Myself and my colleague have just arrived. I believe I’ve just pointed out that vehicle may be of interest to us.”
The footage skips forward to when he and his colleagues are examining the car.
AL: “Did you arrange for it to be recovered?”
SW: “Yes I did after consulting with the investigating officers.”
Mr Langhorn says he has no further questions.
Stephen Swift, representing Kallum Radford, rises to cross examine PC Ward.
SS: “Waring Avenue is an area of St Helens known as Parr or Ashton’s Green, generally that’s the area?”
SW: “That’s correct.”
SS: “Waring Avenue links a number of larger roads in the area. Newton Road, Derbyshire Hill Road, Fleet Lane. It’s on one of the local bus routes?”
SW: “I’m not entirely sure if it’s on a bus route or not.”
SS: “Your attention is immediately drawn to this vehicle. Is this the sort of vehicle that would stand out parked on the drive, beyond fact you’ve been asked look out for it?”
SW: “The make and model is specific. There are very few of those cars around. It would stick out if someone was driving past, however it was concealed away.”
SS: “Was it unusual to see car this nature parked in this neighbourhood?”
SW: “A car of this nature, I would say yes.”
SS: “You immediately notice this vehicle. It’s not hidden?”
SW: Not if you’re walking to the front door.”
SS: “Anyone passing the address could clearly see it?”
SW: “There was nothing obscuring the front of it.”
SS: “It’s not covered, there are no attempts to disguise what it is?”
The officer agrees

14:49JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

'No other patrol sightings of car'​

Mr Swift points out Abbie Jevons in the footage.
SS: “She opens the door. You go in, you go into the back. She was cooperative wasn’t she?”
SW: “Yes, to a certain extent.”
SS: “Questions were asked of her, how long the car had been there, who put it there?”
SW: “I don’t believe by myself, but those questions were asked.”
Photographs of the car in situ are shown to the jury. The officer confirms that he took these pictures.
He is asked whether it would be possible to keep the vehicle behind a gate leading to the back garden of the address.
SW: “I’m not entirely sure if the other side of it opens. There wouldn’t be enough from the gap I could see. I can’t confirm or not. I didn’t open the other gates.”
Mr Langhorn says he has a few questions in re–examination.
AL: “If you hadn’t been called to that address would you have any reason to go there?”
SW: “No I wouldn’t.”
AL: “Would you have found the car?”
SW: “I don’t believe personally I would have.”
AL: “Had any other patrols reported seeing the car there?”
The officer says he is not aware of any such reports.
That concludes his evidence and he is excused.

14:53KEY EVENT

Hillsiders OCG explained​

Mr Greaney rises and tells the court: “The jury may recall, in a discussion between Sophie and Ashley, there was reference to Lee Harrison being with Hillsiders and Hillsiders backing him up. The next evidence will enable us to understand who and what the Hillsiders are.”
PC Jack Farquhar is called to the witness box and sworn in.
He says he has been a police officer for three years and eight months and has “worked in the Knowsley area for the majority of his career” and confirms that he is part of Merseyside Police’s Operation Evolve, which focuses on organised crime in the Huyton area.
PG: “Are you focussed particularly on the Longview and Hillside area?”
JF: “That is correct.”
PG “Is it within your knowledge and experience that an organised crime group operates within the Longview and Hillside area?”
JF: “That is correct, there is an operational organised crime group in that area.”
PG: “By operational, Do you mean it is an active organised crime group.”
JF: “That is correct. Active on a regular basis.”
PG: “Is that a group involved in distribution of drugs?”
JF: “Drugs along with other items.”
PG: “Is it known that this organised crime group has access to firearms?”
JF: “Yes, it is well known.”
PG: “Have you heard people in the area referred to as Hillsiders?”
JF: “Yes, by nominals within the group and members of the public.”
Mr Greaney asks if the group refer to themselves as Hillsiders
JF: “That is correct.”

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

14:58JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Jordan Thompson nicknamed 'Dusty' because he 'leaves people for Dust'​

Mr Greaney continues: “Is a man called Jordan Thompson considered to be a member of the Hillsiders organised crime group?”
PC Farquhar: “Yes he is considered to be a significant member of the Hillsiders organised crime group.”
PG: “Does he have a nickname?”
JF: “Yes, he is referred to by himself and other members of the organised crime group as Dusty.”
PG: “Have you yourself ever had a discussion with Jordan Thompson?”
JF: “Yes I have, on numerous occasions.”
Mr Greaney asks him why Thompson was known as Dusty.
JF: “He stated it was because he leaves people for Dust.”
PG: Are you aware Jordan Thompson has a presence on social media?”
JF: “I am. Jordan Thompson to my knowledge goes by the handles of Dusty and similar names on Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
PC Farquhar confirms Thompson has a YouTube channel.
PG: “Is his channel called DustLongview2HillsideDaysWhereLive….Does he post videos of himself rapping?”
JF: “Yes he does.”
PC Farquhar confirms Thompson lives in the Radway Road area of Longview’s Hillside Estate.



15:13KEY EVENT

'Free all me *advertiser censored**** gang'​

Mr Greaney asks PC Farquhar to confirm that on June 2 this year he attended Jordan Thompson’s address to carry out a search.
JF: “I was tasked with searching the upstairs bedroom. On the wall there were numerous pictures of Jordan Thompson with friends, other associates from the estate, along with other items which indicated it was Jordan Thompson’s room.
PG: “Did you find a pendant displaying a statement ‘Dust107?”
JF: “That is correct.”
The jury are shown a picture of the pendant. The screens shows the Dust 107 pendant beneath a bag of money, on a chain.
PC Farquhar is asked about another necklace with “LV2HS” on it
PG: “Is that phrase one you are familiar with?”
JF: “It generally refers to Longview to Hillside.”
PG: “Is that a phrase you have come across before?”
JF: “Yes numerous times.”
The jury are shown an image of a pendant with the message engraved on the rear: “Free all of me *advertiser censored**** gang longview is my block till the end of day”.
PG: “Did that confirm you in a view you held already that Jordan Thompson went by the name of Dusty or Dust?”
JF: “That is correct.”
PG: “A member of the Hillsiders organised crime group?”
“That is correct.”
“There are no further questions for the witness.”
Mr Greaney tells the court: “We are nearing the end of the prosecution case. We are seeking discussions with other members of the bar on which evidence does or does not need to be introduced to the jury.”
He says that the counsel intend to have these discussions now and adds: “We would have been in a position to close the crown’s case tomorrow, except for the fact that the final witness is abroad and will not return until tomorrow.”
This witness, the pathologist, will instead be called on Thursday morning.
Justice Goose tells the jury: “The case is going quicker than anticipated thanks to the good work of all involved. We are on course for the time that we were given at the beginning of the case.”
He asks for the jury to return at 10.30am tomorrow.

Ashley Dale murder trial as it happens

The 28-year-old was shot dead at her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Legally Bland]

Do we think the Crown are close to resting their case-in-chief yet? What else do we need to hear from them?

Yeah, sounds like they're nearly done going by the last update.

 

[bobbymkii]

Yeah, sounds like they're nearly done going by the last update.

The pathologist to go and that's about it! On to the defendants' cases.
Seeing as Witham's KC has usually been the first to cross examine prosecution witnesses I guess he'll be the first on the stand?

 

[Alyce]

The pathologist to go and that's about it! On to the defendants' cases.
Seeing as Witham's KC has usually been the first to cross examine prosecution witnesses I guess he'll be the first on the stand?

yes, they usually go in order of importance, so am expecting him to be first- that's if he is giving evidence of course.

 

[Alyce]

Thanks Legally for the updates, just catching up properly now...

 

[bobbymkii]

yes, they usually go in order of importance, so am expecting him to be first- that's if he is giving evidence of course.

I think Witham will have to. He's got to somehow convince the jury that he just fired random shots and that one of them just happened to hit Ashley unintentionally.

I very much doubt that he will succeed but if he doesn't at least try then I think he's guaranteed to get the Murder conviction.

The others I'm not so sure.

 

[Alyce]

I think Witham will have to. He's got to somehow convince the jury that he just fired random shots and that one of them just happened to hit Ashley unintentionally.

I very much doubt that he will succeed but if he doesn't at least try then I think he's guaranteed to get the Murder conviction.

The others I'm not so sure.

Yes, I've revised my thoughts a bit - W and Peers possibly, but not the others