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

[Alyce]

15:25Jonathan Humphries

Lee Harrison told police Ashley's killer 'was an old mate'​

Mr Greaney asks: “On August 30, did you and DC Sheedy visit Lee Harrison and his mother at the same address?”
PSI Rawsthorn: “Yes we did.”
PG: “Did they simply refuse to engage?”
PSI Rawsthorn agrees.
PG: “Did Lee Harrison again say he didn’t believe there was any threat to him?”
DR: “He did yes.”
He also said his iPhone had “gone”

PG: “Despite what was now a pattern of lack of cooperation, did you leave your details?”
DR: “Every time I went to visit Lee Harrison I left him with my details, and his mother, every time I went.”

On September 17, DC Sheedy and DC Hunter attended the same address.
PG: “Did they inform you Lee Harrison was in bed when they arrived and that’s where he remained throughout their attendance there?”
DR: “Yes.”
Mr Greaney says an “update was provided” and a DNA sample taken.
Officers says he was also present and spoke to his mum and dad, encouraging them to encourage him to assist with investigation but he did not do so

ON September 21 DCs Sheedy and Hunter attended.
DR: “I think that’s when they got the DNA samples.”
PG: “During that visit, Lee Harrison accepted it must have been a targeted attack as Ashley’s car tyres had been slashed but he denied the accounts from Ashley’s friends about what was in the background to all this.”
DR: “Yes, he dismissed that.”

PG: “Were you aware Detective Constable Sheedy formed the view Lee Harrison was nonchalant and unhelpful.”
DR: “He was unhelpful.”
PG: “Lee Harrison maintained he couldn’t believe Branch would be capable of killing Ashley as their fallout had happened over three years before.”
DR: “He mentioned that on several occasions.”
PG: “Branch knew Ashley and had been to their address as a friend. He said he wasn’t under threat and wouldn’t have his family living where they were living if he was under threat. He said he could offer no reason for the shooting of his partner.”
DR: “Yes, that’s correct.”

In reference to the messages to and from Ashley to her friends, Harrison said “didn’t know where that had come from.”
He denied having stored drugs or cash at 40 Leinster Road.

PSI Rawsthorn says it was pointed out that Harrison did not attend the wake for Rikki Warnick. “He said he hadn’t been to the funeral and it was nothing to do with any kind of threat.”

On November 12, DC Sheedy and Hunter attended Lee Harrison’s home and “discovered he was in Dubai”.

On January 31, an officer visited Lee Harrison’s address following his return from Dubai to “inform him two people had been charged with Ashley Dale’s murder”, Witham and Peers.
PG: “Did he tell you the location of a house party he’d been at in early hours of August 21?”
DR: “He did yes.”
PG: “Did he again maintain he still didn’t know why he or Ashley would have been targeted?”
DR: “He still didn’t cooperate or tell us any reason why she’d been killed.”
PG: “Did he ask why Zest and Barry hadn’t been reinterviewed?”
DR: “His words were have Zest and Branch not been charged.”
PG: “He told you James Witham was an old mate?”
DR: “Yes he did.”
PG: “And described Joseph Peers as an electrician from Roby?”
DR: “That’s correct.”

On July 27, DC Sheedy met with Lee Harrison and his family at the same address.
PG: “Was the reason for that visit to inform Lee Harrison that Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz, Joseph Peers and James Witham had been charged with Ashley Dale’s murder and conspiring to murder him?”
DR: “Yes that’s right.”
PG: “Did Lee Harrison say he didn’t believe they were capable or responsible as he was fine with them, except for one who he refused to name.
Did he state they must have been off their heads on drugs when they did it, but when asked who they were refused to say?”
The witness agrees

Mr Greaney asks if Harrison began “ranting about his name having been in the Liverpool Echo.”
DR: “He wasn’t happy about that at all.”
PG: “Was he frothing at the mouth and talking very rapidly about the impact on himself?”
DR: “He was generally very animated.”
He denied threats having been made by Sean Zeisz and says Zeisz and Olivia McDowell had been at Leinster Road drinking together two weeks before the shooting.

PG “That was the final visit. Harrison has been out of the UK in Dubai on a number of occasions?”
DR: “Yes he’s been out of the country on several occasions.”
Mr Rawsthorn says Harrison “would never give me a personal phone number” and he would have to “go through” his mum or sister.
He describes Harrison as “totally uncooperative” with the investigation.

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]

from link above


Mr Greaney asks if Harrison began “ranting about his name having been in the Liverpool Echo.”
DR: “He wasn’t happy about that at all.”
PG: “Was he frothing at the mouth and talking very rapidly about the impact on himself?”
DR: “He was generally very animated.”

 

[Alyce]

15:33Jonathan Humphries

'I just wanted Harrison to tell me the truth'​

Mr Greaney says he has no further questions.

Stanley Reiz, KC, representing Niall Barry, rises to cross examine PSI Rawsthorn.

SR: “When first visited, Lee Harrison said he had learned of Ashley’s death at 5am that day.”
DR: “He certainly said the early hours.”
SR: “And he had contacted the police?”
DR: “I recall him saying he’d been to Huyton Police Station, he’d been contacted by his sister.”
SR: “He told you about his relationship with Ashley Dale. He told you about his movements on the night of August 20 and the early hours of August 21. Every time you visited him, he spoke to you.”
DR: “He spoke to us yes.”
SR: “He answered your questions about whether he was under threat.”
DR: “He did yes.”
SR: “When you asked him whether he knew why Ashley Dale was shot, he told you he did not?”
DR: “Yes that’s right”.
The witness agrees that he also provided his shoe size and provided his DNA “for elimination purposes”
SR: “He answered your questions about the fact he knew who James Witham was and he was an old mate. He referred to Branch, he told you he had a dispute with Branch but that was three years before. That’s why he told you he didn’t think branch was involved.”
DR: “He didn’t say Branch wasn’t involved. He said he didn’t think he was involved.”
SR: “He told you about his recent contact with Sean Zeisz. That he knew Mr Zeisz and Mr Zeisz had been in his company not long before the shooting?”
DR: “Two weeks before.”
SR: “Do you mean he did not tell you what you wanted to hear?”
The witness says much of the information he had given was “not correct”
DR: “I’m referring to Jordan Thompson and his movements.”
Mr Reiz asks if he knew Thompson as someone “associated with crime”.
DR: I know who Jordan Thompson is…. I don’t know Lee Harrison’s reasons why he wouldn’t mention Jordan Thompson.”
SR: “He told you Jordan Curtis was in the flat and he didn’t go out with him?”
DR: “Yes.”
SR: “You found CCTV that he was out with someone called Jordan Thompson. The two are necessarily inconsistent.”
DR: “He didn’t say he was out with Jordan Thompson”
The officer says he did not write up this information in a witness statement.
SR: “Is the reason why you didn’t speak to him about ways to compel him to make a statement or come to court because he wasn’t giving you the answers you wanted?”
DR: “I just wanted him to tell me the truth.”
SR: “He was asked about the voice note and messages the jury have heard between Ashley Dale and her friends. He was asked about those matters because it was suspected that he was the source of much of the information. He denied that was so.”
DR: “Yes.”
SR: “Your recollection was that he asked why Branch and Zeisz hadn’t been charged. The record we have says he asked why he hadn’t been reinterviewed.”
The witness agrees.

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]

15:35Jonathan Humphries

“Is the account from Lee Harrison what you would expect from the partner of a dead person?”​

Mr Reiz has no further questions.

Mr Greaney rises to re-examine PSI Rawsthorn. He asks whether he has been involved in murder investigations previously, and the investigator says this has been the case.

Mr Greaney asks: “Generally speaking when you have asked the partner of the deceased for a mobile phone has it been handed over? If they have been in bed, have they been prepared to get out of bed? Have they been prepared to give an accurate account of their movements?”
He replies yes to these questions.

PG: “Is the account from Lee Harrison what you would expect from the partner of a dead person?”
DR: “Not at all.”

There are no further questions for the witness, and he is released.

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]

15:40Jonathan Humphries

Lee Harrison and James Witham "in dispute in relation to supply of drugs in North Wales"​

Mr Greaney says he will read some further agreed facts.

He returns to the Hyundai car registered to “a man named Coogan in Huyton”. He says the car was located on October 4 when being driven by “Ventre”, who was insured on the vehicle.
He said it was “owned by a man named Parker”.
“Parker” later stated he had purchased the vehicle in March 2022 and the vehicle “had been left parked and secure at his business premises on Hawthorne Road in Bootle and did not leave this yard”.
It was then “loaned to Ventre” in September 2022.

Police have “not carried out any search” of Woodlands Road, other than one on September 5 when they were “only lawfully permitted to search for Joseph Peers.

On January 9 2023, police spoke to Olivia McDowell
Mr Greaney says was “teary and nervous”.
PG: “When asked about Ashley’s murder, her response was to say Sean Zeisz would not be involved in it. She said Sean had a good heart, he was a good man and he just fell in with the wrong people. Ms McDowell did not want to believe Niall Barry was involved either, as she said he respected women. Ms McDowell stated Ashley Dale was not worried about being in danger, otherwise she would not have stayed in the house alone.”
Said she and Sean Zeisz were not with Barry at Glastonbury festival and were staying in tents with others.
Ms McDowell reported that “Sean had his nose popped” at Glastonbury, but “he had not been battered”.
She added that: “Dusty did not have any involvement in the altercation”.
She said she was no longer with Sean Zeisz and hadn’t been since Glastonbury, and that “all her friends had fallen out with her as they believed she was still speaking to Sean Zeisz”.

On September 21, James Witham pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of Ashley Dale, which amounts to the offence of manslaughter.

Mr Greaney says at the end of July 2022, Merseyside Police received information Lee Harrison and James Witham were “in dispute in relation to supply of controlled drugs in North Wales”.

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]

15:48KEY EVENT

Niall Barry was EncroChat user 'BetterTrunk'​

Mr Greaney moves on to April 10, 2020.
He describes a discussion about recovering a bike believed to be stolen. In that discussion, NB exchanged messages on the encrypted messaging platform EncroChat with another EncroChat user, ‘FrostySocks’.
Niall Barry’s handle was “BetterTrunk."
At 18.08 Niall Barry said to FrostySocks: “Get that 38 off Gibbs. We float with that.”
At 18.09 Barry to FrostySocks: “My other things are quite far dodgy on the road that’s local. Just get that Skorp. And we go.”

Mr Greaney says the messages can be interpreted.
He says: “Thing’ is a common slang term for a firearm.
A .38 is a calibre of ammunition, and it’s common for firearms to be referred to by the calibre of ammunition they take. A Skorp is a common name for a Skorpion submachine gun”
He adds: “No shooting took place following the sending of those messages, nor was any firearm recovered from Niall Barry. Gibbs has not been identified.”

Mr Greaney says on April 19, 2020, Niall Barry exchanged messages with another EncroChat user, BeigeSalad.
At 09.40 Beige Salad sent Barry a message: “2x AK47. 85 sweets with each. 7.62mm. 1x Tech Nine. 9x 19 (3x32 round mags). 400 sweets.
“1x grand power, 50 sweets plus suppressor plus mag.
“1x Skorp with suppressor, 80 sweets. 2x 20 round mags. 7.65mm
“1x Uzi, 1x32 round mag. 400 sweets.
“1xPP 7.65mm 21 sweets plus nine in it.
“1x star nine, 9x19, holds 15, 50 sweets.”
09.42 Barry sent BeigeSalad the response “get us prices please lad.”
09.43 Barry to BS “Can they be delivered?
09.55 Barry to BS “Skorp and Tech and Grand Power, will have defo. Get us prices please lad.”

Mr Greaney explains:
“Sweets, which is used extensively, is a common slang term for bullets and ammunition.
Mag or mags is a common shortening for a magazine, the part of the firearm that stores the bullets and ammunition.
A supressor is designed to supress the noise when a firearm is fired.
A Tech Nine is a referred to an Intratec submachine gun.
Grand Power is a reference to a brand of self loading pistol.
Skorp is a reference to a Skorpion submachine gun.
PP is a reference to a Walther self loading pistol.
Star Nine is a reference to a Star brand self loading pistol.”

“There were no further messages between Better Trunk and Beige Salad about these firearms. It’s unclear whether firearms were supplied or not.”

On June 3 2020, Niall Barry exchanged messages with another EncroChat user.
NB exchanged messages with another EncroChat user, ButterflySea, at 23.58.
Butterfly Sea to NB: “Max wants to buy a strap, can you sort?”
June 4 12.09 Barry replies: “Yo yo. Ye, what’s he after?”
12.11 BS “Max wants a sprayer bro. Spend decent dough he’s saying”
12.11 NB “Yeah man I’ll get on it for him, be able to sort like.”
12.12 BS “Yeah man he wants a sprayer. You wanted to see him last night bro.”
12.12 NB: “Yeah man was f****** lad. I’ll come see him today.”
12.17 “Yeah man sweet son no worries.”

Mr Greaney says:
“Strap is a common slang for a firearm.
Sprayer is common slang for a submachine gun capable of automatic fire.
There were no further messages recovered between Niall Barry and ButterflySea.”

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]

15:55KEY EVENT

Niall Barry and James Witham "in possession of county lines graft phone"​

Mr Greaney says on June 8, 2023, Niall Barry was convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer a prohibited weapon, namely a submachine gun.
He says, however: “No firearm has ever been recovered from Niall Barry or any address connected to him.”

Mr Greaney moves on to explain the term ‘county lines’ to the jury.
He says that it references organised crime groups usually in urban areas controlling a drugs “graft”, using a particular mobile phone, often in towns or rural areas some distance away.

PG: “The Kyle Line was a graft line or county lines used to organise or facilitate supply of crack cocaine and heroin in North Wales, particularly in Rhyl”.
He says the Kyle Line was operational between May and August 2022.
He adds in August 2022, Cathy Doyle was a “runner” for the Kyle Line.
In July and August 2022, Niall Barry and James Witham “both had possession of and use of the Kyle Line” on several occasions.
On July 8 2022, Niall Barry contacted someone saved as Jamie and offered to sell the Audi to him
PG: “Jamie referred to Mr Barry in those texts as Kyle.”


Justice Goose calls for a ten minute break.

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

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15:48

 

[Alyce]

16:05Jonathan Humphries

Case resumes​

Mr Justice Goose returns to court and the jury are called back in



16:25Jonathan Humphries

Injuries to Ashley Dale​

Home Office pathologist Dr Matthew Lyle is called to the witness box.

Ashley’s mum and dad are not present in court for this evidence.

Dr Lyle carried out the post-mortem investigation on Ashley Dale.
This took place after a CT scan “to identify whether there were any suspicious projectiles” remaining within her body.
Mr Greaney says that none were found during this process.

Dr Lyle found that there was an “area of swelling” to the scalp, as well as an abrasion to this area.
The jury are shown a CGI image mapping where injuries were found on Ashley's body.

The pathologist says there was a “gunshot entry wound on the right upper quadrant of the abdomen”, measuring 1.1cm by 1cm, located 110cm above the right heel.

Dr Lyle also found a “gunshot exit wound on the left side of the lumbar region of the back”, 107cm above the left heel.

PG: “We’ve got a bullet that’s entered on the right hand side and exited on the left hand side, passed entirely through Ashley’s body.”

Dr Lyle agrees.




16:44Jonathan Humphries

Ashley could have "run for a short period" after being fatally shot​

Dr Lyle says there were also “relatively minor examples of blunt force trauma” to Ashley’s arms and legs.

He describes the injury to Ashley’s scalp as “quite a painful bang on the head”.
PG: “What sort of mechanism would you expect to result in an injury of that sort?”
ML: “It’s a blunt force injury. Essentially, a blunt impact to the upper left head would account for that injury.”

Dr Lyle says the bullet that killed Ashley passed through her body from front to back, from left to right and slightly downwards. It caused internal bleeding related to damage to her mesentery and intestines.

There was no sign of any drugs in Ashley’s body.
PG: “Ashley Dale was a perfectly healthy young woman with no disease that made any contribution to her death.”
ML: “That’s correct.”

Mr Greaney asks what his conclusion as to the cause of death was.
Dr Lyle says: “In my opinion, she died as a result of a gunshot wound to her abdomen”.
He adds that the injuries sustained as a result of this gunshot wound would have caused “significant blood loss”.

Dr Lyle says that in cases where a fatal injury of this type is sustained, the victim may be capable of moving for a short period before succumbing to blood loss.
He agrees that this could including running, talking or shouting.

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]

16:53Jonathan Humphries

Ashley 'could not speak' on voicemail left after shooting​

Mr Greaney references a phone call from Ashley Dale’s phone to Harrison’s at 12.33am.

Dr Lyle confirms that he has listened to a voicemail message left on his phone after he did not answer.

PG: “At that stage, was Ashley Dale capable of purposeful movement or speech?”

ML: “All I could hear on the footage were noises rather than speech. There were no discernible words. It sounded like someone who was certainly in great difficulty. It would be very surprising if she was able to do much else at that stage. She was barely able to speak.”

Referring to Ms Dale’s more minor injuries, he says that it “does not look like someone who was being attacked with fists or feet or anything like that”.
Dr Lyle confirms a cause of death as “gunshot wound to the abdomen”.


Richard Pratt KC, defending Witham, now cross-examines that pathologist and suggests that the head injury was “consistent with Ashley Dale falling over”.
ML: “It could have been caused that way, yes.”
He adds: “The bang to the head could be a terminal collapse due to blood loss.”
Dr Lyle agrees this could have occurred “within seconds to minutes” after she was shot.


That is all the evidence that will be heard today.

Justice Goose asks the jury to return at 10.30am tomorrow. Thanks for following our live coverage, we will return tomorrow with further updates.

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]

from link above


Mr Greaney asks if Harrison began “ranting about his name having been in the Liverpool Echo.”
DR: “He wasn’t happy about that at all.”
PG: “Was he frothing at the mouth and talking very rapidly about the impact on himself?”
DR: “He was generally very animated.”

It seems they're insinuating he had taken cocaine. He's really coming across as a despicable human being, and it's a shame these losers manage to evade the bullets meant for them, letting innocents die in their stead IMO
(see also Joseph Nee ). I can't believe it's these thick, gangster-wannabe twenty year olds who are allegedly running the drugs business in Liverpool. I wouldn't give them a job in McDonalds!

 

[Alyce]

10:38Jonathan Humphries

Prosecution formally closes case​

The jury take their seats.

Paul Greaney, KC, prosecuting, rises and says: “The jury heard from Dr Matthew Lyle at the end of the day. That was the final evidence on behalf of the prosecution. That is the prosecution case.”

Peter Wright, KC, rises and calls his client, Joseph Peers, to the stand.

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]

Does this look like Witham won't be giving testimony ?

 

[Alyce]

10:46KEY EVENT

JOSEPH PEERS ON THE STAND​

Peers is taken into the witness box.
He is wearing a white short sleeved shirt and grey jeans, and sports short mousey brown hair.
The defendant is sworn in on the bible and gives his full name as Joseph Michael Thomas Peers.
Peers is asked to confirm his details.

Mr Wright begins:: “On August 21 last year, did you murder Ashley Dale?”
JP: “No.”
PW: “Were you involved in any way in the killing of Ashley Dale?”
JP: “Most definitely not.”
PW: “Were you present outside 40 Leinster Road?”
JP: “No, most definitely not.”
PW: “In the early hours of the 21st?”
JP: “No.”
PW: “When Mr Witham broke into that house and shot her?”
JP: “No I was not present?”
PW: “Where were you?”
JP: “I was at home.. Woodlands Road.”
PW: “With who?”
JP: “I was at home with me mother and me father and me two dogs.”
PW: “Had there been an event that had been broadcast that evening?”
JP: “There was the Usyk Joshua fight. I watched that fight. I was laying down on the rug in the living room with me dog. That’s where I watched it.”
PW: “At the time the home of Ashley Dale was entered by Mr Witham and she was shot, what were you doing?”
JP: “I was at home watching the Usyk fight with me dad. I made my mum a cup of tea. I was chilling on her bed for a bit, having a chat, before I come down and watched the fight.”

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]

10:48Jonathan Humphries

'Lee Harrison was a nice lad"​

Mr Wright continues: “Did you take part in any plan to murder Lee Harrison?”
Peers replies: “No, never took part in any plan to murder Lee Harrison.”
PW: “Had you any reason to?”
JP: “No reason. He was a nice lad. I never had no trouble with him in my life.”
PW: “Had there been any previous dispute involving you with and Lee Harrison?”
JP: “No, never had any disputes with Lee. Always got on, I’ve known him for time like, never been any trouble, ever.”
PW: “Had you ever been part of issuing threats or any bad blood towards him?”
JP: “No, never looked at him like that.”
PW: “Were you part of any plan to possess a Skorpion submachine gun?
JP: “No. Never seen one of them in my life.”



10:59Jonathan Humphries

'I am fully qualified gas engineer'​

Mr Wright shows Peers an image of an aerial view of the area around his home in Woodlands Road.

PW: “We see the overview of the area of Roby, which has the railway station towards the middle, bottom, of that particular aerial view. If we were to go along Bridge Road up to the bend in Bridge Road?”
JP: “You’ve got a cut in there.”
PW: “We also see there is a church. St Bartholmew’s Church, Roby, is to be found at that bend.
You say there’s a cut through?”
JP: “There’s two cut throughs, one on the bend and one just before the church entrance.”
PW: “Do they lead through into the residential area?”
JP: “They lead onto Merton Park and then the back of Arnside.”
Mr Wright asks him to point out his house.
JP: “Just as you come through the cut through, you carry on walking up towards the alleyway.
It’s directly opposite the alleyway.”
Peers says his address is at the junction with Woodfield Road.
PW: “Sometimes taxis came and collected from either Woodlands or Woodfield Road.”
JP: “That’s right yeah.”
He points out “the back gate of me mother’s house”.
PW: “We can see how one gains access from the front of number 28 either onto Woodlands Road or just where the white vehicle appears to be parked in the turning area of Woodfield Road.”
JP: “That’s right.”


PW: “Were you single or in a relationship at this time?”
“Single. I was sort of seeing someone. Phoebe Birch.”
PW: “That’s the lady see in the sequence of events from telephone contact and on one occasion when she arrived at the Mercure Hotel in St Helens when you are present.”
JP: “Yes.”

PW: “Had you, prior to August 2022, been in a long term relationship?”
“I had been in a relationship for 10 years. 10 years, just over 10 years yeah. It was with a girl called Lucy McCormack…
I grew up with her basically.”
PW: “Had you lived together for part of that time?”
JP:“Yeah we had our own house, or own mortgage and stuff together yeah.”
PW: “Did that relationship come to an end?”
JP: “It did sadly. We just grew apart. We were still good friends. It wasn’t a bad end, we were still good mates.”
PW: “Did you continue to see each other socially after you had parted?”
JP: “Yeah we did.”
PW: “There was no bad feeling between you. When did that happen?”
JP: “That happened just before Glastonbury, and I was going on holiday. June, yeah.”
PW: “In that time you spent together in that long-term rel, you had got a property with a mortgage did you have a job?”
JP: “I was a fully qualified gas fitter.”
PW: “We’ve heard reference of Joe Peers being an electrician from Roby, but you’re not an electrician?
JP: “I’m not an electrician, I’m a fully qualified gas engineer.”
PW: “Did you have your own business?”
JP: “I had my own business. We did domestic central heating, bathrooms, kitchens.”



11:05Jonathan Humphries

Peers was 'terrible with phones'​

Mr Wright displays a graphic showing a picture of Peers and three phone numbers on the screen.
Peers says: “They’re mine yeah.”
Mr Wright says was “active” between May 2022 and July 2, 2022.
PW: “Over the time of Glastonbury. Was there any significance to that only being active from May?”
JP: “No significance, no.”
PW: “What are you like with phones?”
JP: “I’m terrible. I’m hard to get hold of and I lose them on a regular basis.”
PW: “We then see the next phone was active from August 8 2022.”
JP: “That was my phone as well. Everything on that was in my name.”
PW: “We know that Ashley Dale was shot in the early hours of August 21 2022.”
JP: “Yes.”
PW: “Did you continue to use your phone after the shooting?”
JP: “I sure did, up until the 4th.”
PW: “Over that period of time did you see any reason to change your details or your phone?”
JP: “No. I was still using that phone.”
PW: “Or to get rid of it?”
JP: “No.”
PW: “We see there is a change of phone, which was active from August 31 through until September 13.
The date of your arrest.”
JP: “As you can see from that iPhone 6, I updated the handset. I actually had the same SIM card.
I just updated the handset.”
PW: “Any significance?”
JP: “No, no. I just updated the handset as the old one was old.”

PW: “28 Woodlands Road, Roby, your family home. Where you lived with your parents. Do you have any siblings?”
JP: “Yeah I have two older brothers and a little sister.”
PW: “As we know from the detail in this case, the younger of those two brothers is Thomas. He at this time was in prison?”
JP: “He was in Oakwood.”
PW: “Your older brother is the director of a large company living elsewhere. And you have a young sister.”
Peers says she was also living at Woodlands Road at the 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]

11:09Jonathan Humphries

Relationship with Kallum Radford​

Mr Wright asks: “Did you know Kallum Radford?”
Peers replies: “Yeah I did know Kallum Radford,”
PW: “How did you know Kallum Radford?”
JP: “Kallum Radford was a close family friend. He was a good friend of me older brother, Thomas.”
PW: “Did you know where he lived in 2022?”
JP: “I did.”
PW: “Had you visited?”
JP: “I did.”
PW: “We’re going to hear about the movements of a Hyundai i30. Prior to any movement of that vehicle had you visited Kallum Radford?”
JP: “I had visited Kallum Radford at Redgate Drive.”
PW: “Would that be once or more than once?”
JP: “More than once.”
PW: “Did you have contact details for him?”
JP: “I did.”
PW: “Did he have contact details for you?”
JP: “I’m not too sure.”
PW: “Did he have contact details for anybody in your family?”
JP: “He’d normally ring my mum if he wanted to speak to me or my mum or any of the family in normal times.”
PW: “We have an account that he was a friend, closer to your brother, Thomas. He would visit your family home on occasions. He would contact your mother?”
JP: “That’s true yeah.”
PW: “He would attend your address on occasions when he would be able to call your mother?”
JP: “He’d come to me mum’s”
PW: “In order to speak with Thomas?”
JP: “That’s right yeah.”
PW: “Is there reason why, in terms of the number of phone numbers someone in custody would be able to make contact with while in prison. Is there a restriction?”
JP: “In prison, our Thomas only had my mother’s and my sister or my brother’s number for security reasons. If his friends wanted to speak to him, that’s the way it worked.”
He adds: “It was easier to just call me mum’s phone sometimes, or if someone was there they’d say hello.”

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]

11:17Jonathan Humphries

'Suicide of our friend made us hang out more'​

Mr Wright asks Peers about his relationship with Sean Zeisz.
JP: “I did know Sean Zeisz. Since primary school.”
PW: “How close were you to him?”
JP: “We were quite close friends, yeah. I’d say.”
PW: “During the time of your relationship with Lucy, how close were you?”
JP: “We became closer after I stopped seeing Lucy every day. I never had lots of friends around me at the time, but I was quite close to Sean after I split up with Lucy.”
PW: “In the May, June of 2022, you spent more time with him?”
JP: “That’s true yeah.”
PW: “Olivia McDowell, is that someone you knew?”
JP: “I knew Olivia, yeah. I’d say quite well.”
PW: “How long had you known her?”
JP: “I’ve known Liv for probably, I dunno, years.”
PW: “We will come to Ian Fitzgibbon in due course. Next, is Niall Barry. Or Branch. Did you know him?”
JP: “Yeah I did.”
PW: “How well did you know him?”
JP: “I knew him but we wasn’t really close, close friends. I’d seen him about in the area where I grew up but we wasn’t really close friends.”
PW: “Prior to the may, June of last year, did you spent much time with Niall Barry?”
JP: “Not much time. Around the funeral time yeah, I did spend time with him.”
PW: “That’s Rikki Warnick’s funeral, is that right?”
JP: “That’s right.”
PW: “After the split with Lucy, did you spend more time in the company of Niall Barry?”
JP: “Not just Niall Barry no, it was more on me own or with Sean. There was occasions yeah.”
PW: “Would you ever spend time just with him, with Niall Barry?”
JP: “Not that I can remember no.”
PW: “Who would he be with
JP: “Just the lads….Just, he’d probably with Witham or whoever was in the flat.”
PW: “The flat is 267 Pilch Lane?”
JP: “That’s right yeah.”
PW: “So far as that flat is concerned, when did you start visiting?”
JP: “I started visiting the flat, I reckon just around the funeral time. I started spending more time there just chilling out with the lads basically. We were still mourning the death of our friend. That was more of a catalyst of everyone hanging round back with each other.
PW: “How much time did you have on your hands?”
JP: “I was my own boss, I had as much time as I needed to be honest.”
PW: ”Did you still have your own business?”
JP: “I still had my own business yeah.”
PW: “That’s in respect of installing boilers, and with central heating. Is there any seasonal effect to your work?”
JP: “There is. I’m an installer. Generally speaking, you’re fitting boilers or radiators, I don’t like doing breakdowns. During the summer, not many people use their boilers. My work tends to pick up in the winter months. I’d work all winter. In the hotter months, work slowed down. People aren’t using their boilers.”
PW: “You split up with Lucy. At the time you split up, were you still living together?”
JP: “I’d moved back into my mother’s house with my dog. I’d say May.”
PW: “You moved back. So far as any mortgage was concerned what was happening?”
JP: “That was still being paid until we made an arrangement when we split up. She moved back into her mother’s and the house was empty.”
PW: “You moved back in with your parents. There’s still part of the mortgage to pay for. As far as your outgoings were concerned, what was the position?
JP: “The mortgage was 400 pounds per month. We split it. I had savings, I never really thought of it. It was already a set agreement."

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]

11:21Jonathan Humphries

Peers 'spent time in flat chilling and smoking'​

Mr Wright moves on and asks Peers about James Witham.
PW: “How long had you known him?”
JP: “Not that long you know. Since coming home from the funeral, I’d spent a couple of days or a week being in and out the flat with different individuals. Just chilling out.”
PW: “How long had you known James Witham?”
JP: “I hadn’t known him to speak to or in a friendly manner. I’ve seen him in festivals years ago when i was like 18. After that I never spoke to him, I didn’t even speak to him in there. That’s where I know his face from?”
PW: “When did you become friendly?”
JP: “Prior to Rikki’s funeral. It was just from going to the funeral and stuff like that, chilling out, smoking.”
PW: “Did you spend time in the flat?”
JP: “Yeah that’s right. James Witham was there. Others was there, yes.”

Mr Wright asks about Ian Fitzgibbon.
PW: “Did you know him?”
JP: “Yes I did know him.”
PW: “How long had you known him?”
JP: “I’d known him for years.”
PW: “Were you friends?”
JP: “We were friends but we weren’t close friends. We just knew each other.”
PW: Before the breakup, would you spend time in his company?”
JP: “No I wouldn’t.”
PW: “Would you spend time in the company of any of these defendants?”
JP: “No I wouldn’t.”
PW: “After the breakup, did you spend more time with Ian Fitzgibbon?”
JP: “I did. With Sean.”
PW: “He has a sister, Claudia. Is that someone you knew?”
JP: “Someone I knew yeah.”
PW: “Did you go in the same social circles?”
JP: “No I never.”

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]

11:27Jonathan Humphries

Lee Harrison was 'no enemy of mine'​

Mr Wright asks about David McCaig.
PW: “Did you know him?”
JP: “I did know David yeah.”
PW: “Did he have a nickname?”
JP: “Davo.”
PW: “Was he a friend of yours?”
JP: “I’ve known David since I was a kid. I did spend time with him, yeah….“I’d seen him. He knew my family. He’d call to my mum’s for a cup of tea, that’s when he’d see us.”

Mr Wright aks about Dillon Cain.
JP: “I do not know Dillon Cain.”

He asks about Michael Kershaw.
JP: “I knew Michael Kershaw from the flat. 267, yeah. Being in the flat a couple of times.”
PW: “A friend of yours?”
JP: “I’d say he was a friend yeah. From the flat.”
PW: “Prior to you breaking up with Lucy, was he a friend?”
JP: “I wouldn’t say that. He wasn’t a close friends. He was someone I knew and spoke to.”

Mr Wright displays a picture of Ashley Dale and Lee Harrison. He asks if he knew Ashley.
JP: “Someone I knew yeah. Someone I was friendly with yeah.”
PW: “Did you have any fallout with her?”
JP: “Most definitely not.”
PW: “Someone you spent time with?”
JP: “I’ve seen Ashley and Lee in a festival a couple of times over the years.”

Mr Wright asks about Lee Harrison.
JP: : “I knew Lee Harrison yeah.”
PW: “Is he a friend of yours?”
JP: “He was a friend yeah.”
PW: “Was he an enemy?”
JP: “Definitely not an enemy of mine, no way.”
PW: “Did you spend time in his company?”
JP: “I spent time in his company yeah.”
PW: “How recently prior to that had you spent time in company of Lee Harrison?”
JP: “I seen Lee Harrison at Rikki’s funeral. He never went the wake. I seen him after that as well.”
Peers is asked if there was “bad blood” at the funeral.
JP: “No bad blood at all, as far as I’m concerned, there definitely was not no.”
PW: “Did you hold him responsible for anything?”
JP: “No.”
PW: “Did you have any idea there was any sort of beef or bad blood with anyone
JP: “Definitely not. Lee’s a nice lad. He never really hanged around with the wrong crowd of people. I’ve always known Lee to be good mates with Branch. I was unaware of anything, especially beef between the two of them.”

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]

11:31Jonathan Humphries

Peers 'did not know of any beef'​

Mr Wright displays an image of Jordan Thompson, aka Dusty.
JP: “Never seen the guy in my life. Don’t know him, no.”
PW: “You were living in Roby?”
JP: “I was living in Roby yeah.”
PW: “He appears to have been living in Huyton.”
JP: “Supposedly.”
PW: “They’re relatively close together. There’s been some reference to Hillsiders in this case. Have you any knowledge of Hillsiders?”
JP: “I wouldn’t even know what a Hillsider was.”
PW: “Is that someone you had any interaction with?”
JP: “Definitely not. Huyton’s a big place. I know Hillside estate. It’s somewhere I wouldn’t go or hang around, never mind drive to.”
PW: “Did you know of any beef at all involving Jordan Thompson.”
JP: “No.”
PW: “And anyone with whom you associate?”
JP: “No. I saw in the deps when I was in prison there was a bit of a dispute at Glastonbury but I don’t know anything about that.”
He clarifies he means depositions, as in the legal papers served as part of this case.
Mr Wright asks about Rikki Warnick
JP: “I’ve knew Rikki yeah, since senior school. He was a good friend yeah, nice lad.”

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

 

[chimpface]

Why's everything in the past tense? Strange