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

[Legally Bland]

16:06KEY EVENT

'You, Lee Harrison, were the main target"​

Mr Greaney said: “Having carried out the killing, James Witham returned to the Hyundai and was driven away.”
The jury are shown pictures of the scene, including photographs of the door “kicked in”.
They are also shown a floor plan, which also sees fired bullet casings mapped around the ground floor.
JG: “What is obvious is that James Witham moved into the house, down the hallway, through the dining room and into the kitchen - firing. Contrary to the defence that he has very recently raised, it is clear that James Witham pursued Ashley Dale through the house as she fled, firing at her, and finally shooting her.
“One of the striking features of this case is that James Witham went upstairs in the house. We suggest that it is clear that he did so after he had shot Ashley Dale, as he must have known he had done. If he had gone upstairs first, Ashley would clearly have made her escape.
"No sensible person, we suggest, would accept that James Witham went upstairs first and discharged nine rounds, whilst Ashley waited patiently for him downstairs. Instead, the only intelligent conclusion is that James Witham killed Ashley downstairs and then went upstairs. This demonstrates, along with so much else, that he was on a mission. James Witham went into a bedroom and sprayed it with automatic gunfire.
“When he did this, James Witham was sending out a message, not just on his own behalf but also on behalf of the group he represented and was acting for - Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz, Ian Fitzgibbon and Joseph Peers.
“That message was we have killed your partner, but you, Lee Harrison were the main target.”

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]

16:07JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Niall Barry searched for news stories in hours after shooting​

Mr Greaney continues: “We have told you about the ON trainers bought by James Witham that day and which we know he was wearing as he visited Adisco Food & Wine at 8.12 pm that night. As he left the 40 Leinster Road after killing Ashley, James Witham left an imprint of the sole of one of those shoes on the door that he had earlier kicked in.
"That is one of the reasons he has had no option but to admit that he was the gunman. Another reason is that his DNA was recovered from a bullet casing that was found within 40 Leinster Road, having been discharged from the Skorpion submachine gun that he was wielding.
“During the course of the trial, we will look at what happened in the hours after the killing of Ashley Dale. We will just draw your attention to two particular features at this stage.
“First, at 1.25 am James Witham and Joseph Peers returned to 267 Pilch Lane and they did so together.”
The jury is shown CCTV footage of this.
PG: “Not even an hour since Ashley has been shot by the man on the right.
“As you will remember, James Witham and Joseph Peers had left 267 Pilch Lane together at 10.10 pm. At 11.40 pm, Ashley Dale’s car was attacked and at 12.30 pm her home was invaded and she was shot dead. There is no doubt that James Witham carried out the shooting. There we are, 55 minutes after Ashley had been shot, James Witham and Joseph Peers returning together to 267 Pilch Lane.
“The prosecution case is that the reason James Witham and Joseph Peers left 267 Pilch Lane together was because they were in it together and had been dispatched from that address by the organisers to carry out a killing. And the reason why they returned there together after the killing was to update the organisers about what had happened. Those organisers were Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz and Ian Fitzgibbon.
“Within half an hour of the shooting of Ashley Dale, Niall Barry had started to make searches in the Liverpool Echo for news stories. He made such searches just before and just after 1.00 am - at 1.38 am, at 2.23 am, 2.50 am and 3.07 am. What was provoking Niall Barry to make those searches, some even before James Witham and Joseph Peers had returned to the flat. Was he just the kind of person who found news interesting, even whilst in a flat with his friends in the middle of the night, or was he searching for something that he was expecting to have happened? We suggest the answer to that question is obvious.”

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]

16:09JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Ian Fitzgibbon 'fled to Dubai'​

Mr Greaney continues: "What did the defendants do in the days that followed on from the dreadful murder of Ashley Dale? Three of the five men charged with murder departed Liverpool and a fourth attempted to do so. Joseph Peers and James Witham left for Scotland, and Ian Fitzgibbon fled to Dubai. Niall Barry was arrested in a hotel, along with a bag containing cash and his passport, having contracted with a fixer to be smuggled to mainland Europe.
“Was this mere fluke with each of the four men deciding to take a holiday in late August, coincidentally with each other and coincidentally with the aftermath of the killing? Or was this, as the prosecution suggest, four men seeking to avoid the consequences of their knowing involvement in the plot to murder Lee Harrison, and in the actual murder of Ashley Dale?"

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]

16:17JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Peers and Witham "in it together"​

Mr Greaney: “As we have explained and will see further in due course, Ian Fitzgibbon fled the United Kingdom and Niall Barry sought to do so. Probably reflecting their position as the foot soldiers in the operation, Joseph Peers and James Witham set their sights lower, but nonetheless their aim was plainly to put themselves out of harm’s way, at least for a period of time. We will get to their departure in a moment.
“First, it is relevant to understand what was done with the Hyundai that had been used by James Witham and Joseph Peers in the course of the killing. During the afternoon of 21st August, the Hyundai travelled from Liverpool to St. Helens. It did so on false plates. It was being taken to a man called Kallum Radford, the second defendant, to enable him to conceal it.
“Over the whole period that the Hyundai was being moved, the phones of Joseph Peers, Sean Zeisz and Ian Fitzgibbon were inactive. The prosecution case is that this is because they knew that important efforts were being made to cover their tracks and they wanted to avoid detection.
“Unfortunately for Joseph Peers, the evidence demonstrates that he was one of those involved in taking steps to conceal the vehicle used by the killers. He took a taxi back from St. Helens after the Hyundai had been dropped off with Kallum Radford. If, as we understand he will claim in this trial, Joseph Peers was entirely uninvolved in the killing, why was he engaged in concealing the car that had been used, at a time at which he must have been aware of its connection to the murder?
“On the afternoon of 21st August 2023, still the day of Ashley Dale’s murder, Joseph Peers and James Witham travelled to the Mercure Hotel in St. Helens. You should note that they remained together – as they did for much of the subsequent period. Why was Joseph Peers staying with James Witham?
“They checked out of the hotel at 11.00 am the following day, 22nd August. Then, in the early hours of 23rd August 2023, James Witham and Joseph Peers travelled to Scotland. What they were doing whilst there the prosecution does not know, but it is plain they were together.
“On Friday 26th August, James Witham and Joseph Peers, still together, travelled south. As they were doing so, police officers were executing a search warrant at James Witham’s home address. At 5.19 pm Julie Witham, James Witham’s sister sent him a text message and there followed panicked attempts by James Witham to get hold of his sister, who at that time did not pick up for the simple reason that she was with the police. Unable to get hold of his sister, James Witham started to call his father, who also did not answer as he too was with the police. Meanwhile Joseph Peers called his own mother, clearly, we suggest, to see whether his door had been put through as well.
“At 5.57 pm, the pair, still together, arrived back in the Huyton area. Whilst James Witham’s address was being searched, Joseph Peers booked two rooms at the Mercure Hotel in St. Helens for the night. That evening Joseph Peers’ father, Thomas McMahon, dropped the pair off at that hotel, where they checked in to the two rooms. This time Joseph Peers’ girlfriend joined him for the night and the following morning when they checked out Joseph Peers and James Witham separated, with Joseph Peers, no doubt believing he was safe, returning home whilst James Witham returned to Scotland
“Until that point, the two had been inseparable. Why was that so, unless they had been in on the attack on 40 Leinster Road together? And if Joseph Peers was uninvolved, is it credible that he learnt nothing of what James Witham had done during their time together?
“On 4th September, Joseph Peers travelled back up to Scotland where he and James Witham reunited and remained until 13th September when they travelled back from Scotland towards the North West in a black Audi Q7. They were stopped by the police and arrested. James Witham initially provided a false name, Francis Kelly, but his lie was quickly revealed.
“The questions we invite you to consider are obvious. What was it that pulled Joseph Peers and James Witham away from Liverpool in the period after the murder of Ashley Dale? Was it mere coincidence that the two men the prosecution suggests formed the hit team decided to take an August break together, or were they seeking to put distance between themselves and their awful crime? We suggest it was no coincidence. Was Joseph Peers lured on holiday by the killer James Witham, ignorant of what he had done? We suggest he was not, and we invite you to conclude that the fact he spent time with James Witham - the admitted gunman - after the killing for such a prolonged period is a clear indication that the two of them were in it together throughout.”

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]

16:20JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Ian Fitzgibbon trip to Dubai "not a coincidence"​

Mr Greaney continues: “Ian Fitzgibbon plainly decided that remaining in the United Kingdom did not provide the degree of protection from the consequences of his criminality that he wanted.
“On the morning of 23rd August 2023, he travelled to Birmingham with his sister Claudia and departed the United Kingdom for Dubai.
“Although he had departed for Dubai, Ian Fitzgibbon was arrested in Spain where was extradited to stand trial alongside the other five defendants
“Again, the prosecution asks you to consider why he decided to leave the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the murder of Ashley Dale. Was it mere coincidence, did he just fancy a trip to Dubai, or was Ian Fitzgibbon seeking to avoid the consequences of his criminality? We suggests that these events, the fleeing to Dubai, provide cogent evidence of Ian Fitzgibbon’s involvement.”

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]

16:24KEY EVENT

Niall Barry 'tried to flee country with help of Gus the fixer'​

Mr Greaney continues: “Niall Barry’s plans in the aftermath of the murder of Ashley Dale were even more sophisticated, reflecting his role as a key organiser of the plot.
“The only sensible conclusion on the evidence is that Niall Barry made plans to leave the country. In the course of the trial, we will invite you to consider why Niall Barry made these plans. His plans, if they had been successful, would inevitably have disrupted his life in Liverpool. So why was he going to significant lengths to leave? The answer, we suggest, is straightforward. He was seeking to avoid the consequences of his involvement in the murder of Ashley Dale, and the plot to murder Lee Harrison.
“The way in which Niall Barry sought to leave the country reveals that he was not going on a holiday or intending a weekend away. Instead, his actions show that he wanted to depart in circumstances that would conceal from the authorities where he was going.
“On the afternoon of 22nd August 2022, the day after the murder of Ashley Dale, Niall Barry made contact by phone with a person recorded in his handset under the name 'Gus'. Gus has not been traced by the police, but it is clear from the messages that his role was as a fixer, skilled in enabling those who want to flee the country by a concealed route
“Niall Barry made contact with Gus by text at 3.09 pm on 22nd August, and Gus called him back almost immediately. There followed an exchange of messages which demonstrate beyond doubt what Niall Barry intended to do.
“ At 3.11 pm, after an exchange about Niall Barry’s number, Gus informed Niall Barry: “Sound. It be in mids or south. You ready leave anytime”.
“Gus was telling Niall Barry that he would be picked up in either the Midlands or the South of England.
“Niall Barry indicated his agreement immediately, and Gus then confirmed that the plans were afoot: “Sound I’ll speak kid tell him need on next one And drop ye f or ams”. It seems likely that “f” is a reference to France and “ams” a reference to “Amsterdam” so the plan was plainly to smuggle Niall Barry to mainland Europe.
“There was then a discussion about the pick-up. By 3.15 pm, the discussion had turned to yet further practicalities. Gus told Niall Barry that he needed to travel only with a kit bag and Niall Barry agreed. Keep that in mind because, in a moment we will look at what Niall Barry was arrested with.
“A couple of hours after these messages, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz were in contact by telephone. The sensible inference is that Niall Barry was informing his co-conspirator that he felt that he had no option but to seek to flee the consequences of what he had done. Sean Zeisz had clearly decided that he would attempt to brave things out. Whether he explained that in this conversation is something that only the two defendants know.
“By the early morning of Tuesday 23rd August 2023, Gus the fixer had put in place the plan for Niall Barry to flee. At 5.43 am, he sent a message to Niall Barry that read, “Have info today what’s what bro”. It is clear from this message that the plans to enable Niall Barry to flee the jurisdiction and to seek to avoid the investigation into his crimes were nearing a conclusion.
“Whether there was further contact between the two men during the course of the Thursday is not revealed by the evidence. The next contact the prosecution can prove occurred at 5.43 am on Wednesday 24th August 2023 when Niall Barry sent Gus a message that read: “Ok son nice 1 thank u.”
“The plans were now in place. 133. The same day, at 7.46 pm, Niall Barry was captured on CCTV at a restaurant in West Kirby, Hickory’s Smokehouse.
“From there he travelled by taxi to the Formby Hall Golf and Spa Resort in Formby. CCTV footage shows him arriving there with his girlfriend Lucy Worley, who had travelled separately in a Mercedes. It was from that Mercedes that the handset to which we referred much earlier was recovered.
“At 10.45 pm, Niall Barry was arrested from room 223 at the hotel. Bags were recovered from that room, Niall Barry’s bags. Within them was found £10,250 in cash and Niall Barry’s passport. Just as Gus had instructed him, Niall Barry was travelling light.
“The only sensible conclusion is that Niall Barry was intent upon a final night at a smart hotel with his girlfriend before he left the country. Why was he fleeing the jurisdiction? The answer, the prosecution suggest is because he was seeking avoid the consequences of his knowing involvement in these awful crimes.”

16:30JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Joseph Peers claims he went to Pilch Lane to 'watch Anthony Joshua fight'​

Mr Greaney continues: “All of the defendants save for Ian Fitzgibbon were interviewed by the investigators. It is important that we should explain what the five who were interviewed said in the interviews. And it is important that we should explain in summary what we understand the cases of the six defendants will be in this trial in order that you can understand the issues you will need to decide.
“On 14th September 2022, having been returned to Merseyside, Joseph Peers was interviewed by the police. He declined to answer their questions that day and the next, and also during a subsequent interview on 30th January. In answer to each question the police asked, he said “no comment”.
“Although Joseph Peers did not explain his position when interviewed by the police, we understand that his position in this trial will be that he visited 267 Pilch Lane on the night of 20th August, where a group of friends had gathered in order to watch the televised boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Oleksander Usyk.
"It had, he maintains, always been his intention to watch the fight at home with his father and so there came a time when he left 267 Pilch Lane. He had intended to walk home, but James Witham, he claims, insisted on driving him there. He acknowledges that this was in the Hyundai. Joseph Peers maintains that, having been dropped off, he remained at home until James Witham called for him in the early hours, following which they walked back to 267 Pilch Lane, where no one said a word about the murder.
“If that is the defence of Joseph Peers in this trial, the prosecution will submit that it is untrue and an unsophisticated attempt to explain away the reality, that reality being that he drove James Witham to 40 Leinster Road as part of a plan to kill Lee Harrison and knowing full well that Ashley Dale would be killed if there. His claim that a man on a mission to kill, James Witham, insisted on dropping him home before then travelling on to do the killing itself, and that he then insisted on picking him up after the killing is one that you can and should readily reject. Because they were in it together.”

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]

16:32JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Kallum Radford 'moved murder car'​

Mr Greaney says: “The evidence demonstrates that Joseph Peers had been involved in taking the vehicle to St. Helens and into the control of Kallum Radford on the afternoon of the murder. The vehicle was then moved, on the instructions of Kallum Radford, to the home of a woman named Abbie Jevins on Waring Avenue.
“On Sunday 9th October 2022, police officers attended Abbie Jevin’s address on Waring Avenue in St. Helens. Their visit there was unconnected with the investigation into the murder of Ashley Dale. However, whilst there the officers saw a vehicle on the drive. It was a Hyundai with the registration mark WL68 KKT – the vehicle that we have referred to many times in the course of this opening. We can see an image taken from the footage recorded by the Body Worn Camera of one of the officers who attended.
“The officers conscientiously recognised the connection between this vehicle and the murder of Ashley Dale. Enquiries of the householder, Abbie Jevins, revealed that a man called Kallum Radford - the second defendant - had been responsible for placing the vehicle at Abbie Jevins’ home.
“Abbie Jevins sent a series of messages telling Kallum Radford the car was being seized and that she was being arrested. She also attempted to call him, although he replied by WhatsApp, “what the *advertiser censored** don’t fickimg lie omg”, and she replied that she was waiting on a decision and felt sick. The last of those messages was sent at 5.54 pm. That was almost the last activity on Kallum Radford’s mobile telephone as at 6.00 pm, his device disconnected from the network, and all of the calls thereafter were forwarded to voicemail. This was whilst the police were still with Abbie Jevins.
“Neither his mobile nor his SIM card were recovered by the police.
“Kallum Radford had plainly decided to dispose of his phone, a clear indication we suggest of guilty involvement in concealing the vehicle that had been used by the killers.”

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]

16:36JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

'It was Zest or something like that'​

Mr Greaney continues: “Kallum Radford was arrested. He was interviewed by the police on 11th October 2022.
“His legal representative provided a prepared statement in which Kallum Radford said that he had been walking along the road when the Hyundai pulled up alongside him and the driver asked if he knew of a drive on which he could park the vehicle for a week.
“He, Kallum Radford, had spoken to a friend called Abbie Jevins, who agreed that the vehicle could be parked at her home. He had been paid £100, and he had given half to Abbie Jevins. In answering the officers’ subsequent questions, Kallum Radford said that the events he had described had happened at the end of August and that there had been two men in the Hyundai, with another vehicle following. He said that the passenger had been referred to as “Z”. Asked further, he said, “it was like Zest or something like that.”
“As you know, Zest is the nickname of Sean Zeisz. The law is that what one defendant says about another in interview is not evidence against the other defendant unless and until the defendant who has made the claim enters the witness box and repeats it. We do not know whether Kallum Radford will enter the witness box to say that one of the men involved in concealing the car had the name “Zest or something like that.” So, as matters stand, that is not part of the case against Sean Zeisz, but it is part of the case against Kallum Radford.
“Interviewed again on 31st January 2023, Kallum Radford said that there were a few things he needed to change from his earlier account. He explained that he had been frightened at the time of the first interview because he had known what crime was alleged, so had pretended he did not know who the lads in the car had been. He then said that Joseph Peers had brought the car to him, stating that the Hyundai had been involved in a crash in Wales and asking to leave it with him for a week. He confirmed that the car had damage to the back light. He was on this occasion less firm on the assertion he had made in the first interview that a man nicknamed Zest was present. Once again, at this stage, you should disregard the suggestion of Kallum Radford that Joseph Peers brought the car used by the killers to him in order for it to be concealed.
“As we understand it, in this trial the position of Kallum Radford remains that Joseph Peers was behind bringing the vehicle to him. We expect that he will back further away from the suggestion that a man called Zest was involved, maintaining that he did not know the name of the man who accompanied Peers. His case as we understand it is that he had no idea that he was involved in storing a vehicle that had been involved in a murder.
“The prosecution case is that Kallum Radford knew that he was making arrangements for the storage of a vehicle that had been used in a serious crime. More broadly, we ask you why steps were taken to put the Hyundai out of the way. The answer, we suggest, is obvious. The car was being put out of the way because it was the car that had been used by the killers of Ashley Dale. They did not want the police to find it.”

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]

16:38JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Sean Zeisz said he was 'disgusted' by Ashley's murder​

Mr Greaney: “Sean Zeisz was first interviewed on the evening of 30th August 2022 when his representative provided the police with a prepared statement. In that document, he denied that he had been present at 40 Leinster Road at the time of the killing. As will be obvious to you, the prosecution does not assert that he was. Instead, we maintain that his role was an organisational one. A further interview took place the next day, 31st August 2022, when Sean Zeisz declined to answer the questions of the police.
“Sean Zeisz was interviewed for a third time on 13th February 2023. A further prepared statement was provided, in which he denied any involvement in the murder of Ashley Dale or knowledge of the intention of others.
“The statement asserted that Sean Zeisz was “disgusted by what has happened”. It went on to give an account. Sean Zeisz maintained that on the night of 20th August 2022 he had been to a chip shop on Pilch Lane when he had been invited by Joseph Peers to watch a boxing match at 267 Pilch Lane.”
His statement said: “One of the others who was at the flat owed me money which I had been chasing for over two weeks. He told me that there was some cannabis at the flat he intended to sell the following morning and told me he would give me the money from this. I therefore agreed to stay over and go with him to sell the same the next day.
“I had a couple of cannabis joints, watched the boxing and started to fall asleep. Two of the others at the flat had been drinking and Witham became rowdy and was asked to leave by Niall. When Witham left Joe also left and said he was going home. As soon as Joe left, I called him to ask him to get us some cigarettes.
"Called him around 2 or 3 times but he didn’t answer. I then tried to call a number of friends locally to see if they would get some cigarettes. I did not want to drive to the garage myself as I had no licence and I had smoked pot. I called around 3 or 4 others, but had no luck. I also recall texting people too. I eventually got Joe and asked him for cigarettes. He said he would call me back. He called me back and said he would come and drop some off. I did not know he was still with James Witham until he come back to the flat with him.
“I had another cannabis joint, and Niall told me I could sleep in the bed. I then went into the bedroom and went to sleep.”
PG: “Thereafter, he exercised his right to silence.
“The prosecution understands that in this trial Sean Zeisz will accept that he was assaulted at Glastonbury, but not by Dusty and will deny that these events had anything to do with Branch, Niall Barry. He will maintain the account he gave about the events on the night of 20th to 21st August but will add that when James Witham returned to the flat in the early hours of 21st August, he had confessed to having “shot up Saz’s house”.
“The position of the prosecution is that the account Sean Zeisz gave in his prepared statement and which he maintains is a false attempt to explain his presence in the flat and a lying account of the reason for his contact with Joseph Peers once he, Peers, had left 267 before the killing. Sean Zeisz did not, as he claimed, call Joseph Peers as soon as he had left the flat. And if he really wanted cigarettes, as he claimed, the shop nearly next door was open.”

16:41JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Niall Barry denied fall out with Lee Harrison​

Mr Greaney continues: “Niall Barry was interviewed by the police on 25th August 2022. He provided a prepared statement in which he said that at the time of the murder he was at a flat on Pilch Lane with his friends Sean, Michael and Ian. He provided certain other details and then declined to answer the questions of the police save in a small number of respects, including maintaining that he had spent the night watching the Anthony Joshua fight and then a UFC fight on his mobile phone.
“Niall Barry was interviewed again on 26th August 2022. He confirmed that there was nothing he had remembered or could add to what he had said the day before. He then largely exercised his right to silence. He was interviewed for a third time on 13th February this year, when he exercised his right to silence throughout.
“In this trial, we understand that he will deny any fall out with Lee Harrison, who he acknowledges was known as “Saz”. His position, we believe, is similar to that of Sean Zeisz in relation to the night of 20th and 21st August and in particular he too maintains that on returning to the flat, James Witham described having “shot up” the home of Lee Harrison.
“The position of the prosecution is that Niall Barry was at the centre of all of this, just as Ashley said in all those messages. He was behind the plot to murder Lee Harrison, pulling the strings – and he was a party to the murder of Ashley Dale.”

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]

16:42JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Ian Fitzgibbon 'agreed to extradition'​

Mr Greaney: “As we have explained, Ian Fitzgibbon was arrested in Spain. It is only fair that we should point out that he consented to his extradition to this country for trial, but the circumstances of his extradition meant that no interview was possible.
"However, we understand that at trial his case will be that he had attended 267 Pilch Lane in order to watch the boxing. Peers and Witham had left before it started and his contact with them afterwards was to discover when they were returning, and to bring back drinks when they did. When he discovered what had happened, he fled to Dubai in the hope that the police investigation would exonerate him.
“The prosecution case is that his account is an attempt to obscure the truth, the truth being that he was knowingly involved.”

16:43JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

James Witham wanted to 'send message' to Lee Harrison over 'drug dealing dispute'​

Mr Greaney: “As we have explained James Witham was arrested along with Joseph Peers as they travelled south from Scotland on 13th September. He was interviewed on 14th and 15th September, when he declined to answer the questions of the police.
“In the course of the proceedings leading up to this trial, a document called a defence statement was submitted on behalf of James Witham. In it, he maintained that he was on friendly terms with Lee Harrison and Ashley Dale. He denied that he had any involvement in the shooting of Ashley Dale and maintained that there was an innocent explanation for the scientific evidence that implicated him as the gunman.
“That was all, as he is now first to acknowledge, lies – lies about the killing of an innocent young woman.
“We understand that James Witham’s position in this trial will be completely different. He will maintain that he had a grievance against Lee Harrison related to drug dealing and went into 40 Leinster Road intending to discharge the machine gun in order to send out a message. His position is that he didn’t see or hear Ashley Dale at any stage.
“The position of the prosecution is that James Witham’s new account is lies, just like the first account he gave. People in houses nearby heard Ashley’s screams. How did James Witham not hear them? James Witham knew Ashley was there. He killed her deliberately, and he did so as part of a plot with the other defendants charged on counts 1 and 2. By the conclusion of this trial, we predict that you will be sure of that.”

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]

16:46JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Each defendant played "knowing part" in murder​

Mr Greaney: “It will be for the Judge to direct you about the law at the conclusion of all of the evidence. What we say now is entirely subject to the judge’s directions. It simply summarises how the case is put by the prosecution.
“We will start with count two. This accuses Joseph Peers, Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry, Ian Fitzgibbon and James Witham of conspiring to murder Lee Harrison. The prosecution case is that against the background that we have described in detail, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz, supported by Ian Fitzgibbon planned to kill Lee Harrison, and drew in James Witham and Joseph Peers as the men on the ground. The instructions were to kill Lee Harrison, but to let no one get in their way and to leave no witnesses behind. They knew that Ashley lived at 40 Leinster Road. It was obviously within the scope of their agreement that she might be killed.
“Count one reflects what actually happened on the night. When James Witham kicked in the door, Lee Harrison was not there, but Ashley Dale was. He killed her, intending to do so. Each of the other defendants charged with murder played a knowing part in the events that led to the death of Ashley Dale. They bear responsibility for it, along with him.
“Count thre represents the fact that the attack on 40 Leinster Road and the killing of Ashley Dale were carried out with a machine gun. Obviously, the possession of such a weapon and the ammunition for it is against the lawful. Count three simply represents the fact that the defendants involved in the plot obviously anticipated that such a firearm and ammunition would be used for the purposes of it and they were party to that possession.
“Count four is simple and relates to Kallum Radford only. He arranged, the prosecution suggest, for the Hyundai to be stored knowing full well that it had been used in a serious offence. He did so with intent to impede the arrest or prosecution of Joseph Peers and Sean Zeisz.
“Members of the jury, that is all we wish to say to you at this stage. Thank you for your patience and sitting late. Throughout the course of the trial, you must bear in mind that the burden of proving the case rests upon the prosecution and we discharge that burden only if we make you sure of the guilt of the defendant on the particular charge you are considering.
"You must consider the position of each defendant on each charge separately. Whether the prosecution has discharged that burden and made you sure of guilt will be for you to decide only once you have heard all of the evidence in the case. And this is the evidence we will start to hear on Monday.”
Justice Goose sends the jury home. A reminder, the court is not sitting tomorrow.
Thanks for following our live updates, we will provide further coverage on Monday morning.

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]

16:46JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Each defendant played "knowing part" in murder​

Mr Greaney: “It will be for the Judge to direct you about the law at the conclusion of all of the evidence. What we say now is entirely subject to the judge’s directions. It simply summarises how the case is put by the prosecution.
“We will start with count two. This accuses Joseph Peers, Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry, Ian Fitzgibbon and James Witham of conspiring to murder Lee Harrison. The prosecution case is that against the background that we have described in detail, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz, supported by Ian Fitzgibbon planned to kill Lee Harrison, and drew in James Witham and Joseph Peers as the men on the ground. The instructions were to kill Lee Harrison, but to let no one get in their way and to leave no witnesses behind. They knew that Ashley lived at 40 Leinster Road. It was obviously within the scope of their agreement that she might be killed.
“Count one reflects what actually happened on the night. When James Witham kicked in the door, Lee Harrison was not there, but Ashley Dale was. He killed her, intending to do so. Each of the other defendants charged with murder played a knowing part in the events that led to the death of Ashley Dale. They bear responsibility for it, along with him.
“Count thre represents the fact that the attack on 40 Leinster Road and the killing of Ashley Dale were carried out with a machine gun. Obviously, the possession of such a weapon and the ammunition for it is against the lawful. Count three simply represents the fact that the defendants involved in the plot obviously anticipated that such a firearm and ammunition would be used for the purposes of it and they were party to that possession.
“Count four is simple and relates to Kallum Radford only. He arranged, the prosecution suggest, for the Hyundai to be stored knowing full well that it had been used in a serious offence. He did so with intent to impede the arrest or prosecution of Joseph Peers and Sean Zeisz.
“Members of the jury, that is all we wish to say to you at this stage. Thank you for your patience and sitting late. Throughout the course of the trial, you must bear in mind that the burden of proving the case rests upon the prosecution and we discharge that burden only if we make you sure of the guilt of the defendant on the particular charge you are considering.
"You must consider the position of each defendant on each charge separately. Whether the prosecution has discharged that burden and made you sure of guilt will be for you to decide only once you have heard all of the evidence in the case. And this is the evidence we will start to hear on Monday.”
Justice Goose sends the jury home. A reminder, the court is not sitting tomorrow.
Thanks for following our live updates, we will provide further coverage on Monday morning.

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

Thanks for the updates today. I find this case utterly chilling.

 

[Becky53]

Thanks LB for the live updates - struggling to follow via the Echo’s webpage (page randomly refreshes or doesn’t load for me).

 

[Alyce]

16:07JONATHAN HUMPHRIES

Niall Barry searched for news stories in hours after shooting​

Mr Greaney continues: “We have told you about the ON trainers bought by James Witham that day and which we know he was wearing as he visited Adisco Food & Wine at 8.12 pm that night. As he left the 40 Leinster Road after killing Ashley, James Witham left an imprint of the sole of one of those shoes on the door that he had earlier kicked in.
"That is one of the reasons he has had no option but to admit that he was the gunman. Another reason is that his DNA was recovered from a bullet casing that was found within 40 Leinster Road, having been discharged from the Skorpion submachine gun that he was wielding.
“During the course of the trial, we will look at what happened in the hours after the killing of Ashley Dale. We will just draw your attention to two particular features at this stage.
“First, at 1.25 am James Witham and Joseph Peers returned to 267 Pilch Lane and they did so together.”
The jury is shown CCTV footage of this.
PG: “Not even an hour since Ashley has been shot by the man on the right.
“As you will remember, James Witham and Joseph Peers had left 267 Pilch Lane together at 10.10 pm. At 11.40 pm, Ashley Dale’s car was attacked and at 12.30 pm her home was invaded and she was shot dead. There is no doubt that James Witham carried out the shooting. There we are, 55 minutes after Ashley had been shot, James Witham and Joseph Peers returning together to 267 Pilch Lane.
“The prosecution case is that the reason James Witham and Joseph Peers left 267 Pilch Lane together was because they were in it together and had been dispatched from that address by the organisers to carry out a killing. And the reason why they returned there together after the killing was to update the organisers about what had happened. Those organisers were Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz and Ian Fitzgibbon.
“Within half an hour of the shooting of Ashley Dale, Niall Barry had started to make searches in the Liverpool Echo for news stories. He made such searches just before and just after 1.00 am - at 1.38 am, at 2.23 am, 2.50 am and 3.07 am. What was provoking Niall Barry to make those searches, some even before James Witham and Joseph Peers had returned to the flat. Was he just the kind of person who found news interesting, even whilst in a flat with his friends in the middle of the night, or was he searching for something that he was expecting to have happened? We suggest the answer to that question is obvious.”

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

interesting that there is no record of any phone calls from Witham/Peers to Barry/Zeisz/Fitzgibbon after the shooting at 12.35am until their return to Pilch Lane at 1.30am….is that because they had their phones off while they were travelling somewhere to hide the gun ?
it’s about an 8 minute drive from Leinster to Pilch….took them 55 minutes.

 

[bobbymkii]

Well that, sadly, was infinitely worse than I thought it was going to be. Whereas a lot of us (me included) thought this was a classic case of mistaken identity or 'caught in the crossfire' style murder which seems to be particularly, shockingly prevalent in the criminal underworld in the Merseyside area, instead it looks like Ashley spent months in fear and her life ended suffering a terrifying ordeal.

 

[Legal]

It seems to me the prosecution have a rock solid case, and have painted a very clear picture to the jury, with plenty of evidence, much of it from poor Ashley's messages. Why can't these sad, pathetic men just attack each other and leave innocent women out of it? Also, nice to see Ashley's boyfriend, the real target, doesn't seem to have done anything to help the police catch her killers. Classy.

Also - a spur of the moment trip to Dubai in August? Yeah, right! I used to live in Dubai and it's 40 plus degrees in August with 90% humidity. Nobody goes there in July/August for fun; most people are trying to escape!

Finally, Bobby, did you notice the following stated by the prosecution, which reminded me of all our discussions during the tik tok trial about Mohammed Patel's evidence:

The law is that what one defendant says about another in interview is not evidence against the other defendant unless and until the defendant who has made the claim enters the witness box and repeats it.

Explains a lot!

 

[bobbymkii]

Finally, Bobby, did you notice the following stated by the prosecution, which reminded me of all our discussions during the tik tok trial about Mohammed Patel's evidence:

The law is that what one defendant says about another in interview is not evidence against the other defendant unless and until the defendant who has made the claim enters the witness box and repeats it.

No I did not notice that!

 

[Alyce]

It seems to me the prosecution have a rock solid case, and have painted a very clear picture to the jury, with plenty of evidence, much of it from poor Ashley's messages. Why can't these sad, pathetic men just attack each other and leave innocent women out of it? Also, nice to see Ashley's boyfriend, the real target, doesn't seem to have done anything to help the police catch her killers. Classy.

Also - a spur of the moment trip to Dubai in August? Yeah, right! I used to live in Dubai and it's 40 plus degrees in August with 90% humidity. Nobody goes there in July/August for fun; most people are trying to escape!

Finally, Bobby, did you notice the following stated by the prosecution, which reminded me of all our discussions during the tik tok trial about Mohammed Patel's evidence:

The law is that what one defendant says about another in interview is not evidence against the other defendant unless and until the defendant who has made the claim enters the witness box and repeats it.

Explains a lot!

yes….. so pleased Pros explained that….makes perfect sense now

 

[bobbymkii]

yes….. so pleased Pros explained that….makes perfect sense now

I actually wonder what would have happened in the Olivia case if the Ashley Dale and Elle Edwards trials had happened before it. All of them were part of a notorious spree of gun deaths in Merseyside that were always likely to be compared to each other and (very much JMO of course) the evidence that convicted Cashman was pathetic compared to the evidence that convicted Chapman and will likely convict at least most of these 5 on trial for killing Ashley.

 

[Legal]

I don't know if it was just the reporting, but I found some of the cashman evidence very confusing. I think the female witness for the prosecution was the key to his downfall. However, I found the prosecution arguments posted in this thread to be very clear and well-explained and the prosecutor joined the dots for the jury. At this point, I don't see how the defence can explain the evidence away.

To be honest, I just don't know how these fools thought they would get away with this! All these dodgy blokes with ridiculous nicknames (Edward scissors!!!!) sitting in a flat, then a woman is murdered, then they all leg it to scotland, dubai and a place unknown (except to the "fixer"). While the gunman buys a pair of brand new trainers and uses them to kick the door down. Not exactly master criminals! Just a shame an innocent woman lost her life.