Ashley Dale’s killer gives fake name to police after Audi pulled over on M6

Ashley Dale's killer gave a fake name to police when he was arrested after an Audi was pulled over by police on a motorway.

The Knowsley^[1] Council worker died aged 28 after being shot in the abdomen and collapsing in the back yard of her home on Leinster Road, Old Swan^[2], shortly after midnight on August 21 last year. Five men are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court^[3] accused of her murder.

Jurors previously heard that James Witham had kicked down the door of her house, where she was spending the evening alone with her dachshund Darla, before entering and shooting her with a Skorpion submachine gun. The 41-year-old is expected to claim he did not see or hear Ashley and was instead attempting to "send a message" to her boyfriend Lee Harrison, who was not present at the time.

The jury have been played footage captured by the body worn cameras of police officers as they arrested Witham and co-defendant Joseph Peers after stopping a black Audi Q7 on the M6 in the Cumbria area at around 5pm on September 13 2022. The car had been travelling on the southbound carriageway back towards Merseyside, with both men having previously been in Scotland together since September 4.

Peers was found in the front passenger seat, where he was handcuffed. When taken out of the vehicle and told he was being detained on suspicion of murder, he replied: "Suspicion of murder?"

Witham meanwhile was sat in the rear nearside smoking a cigarette. He was placed into handcuffs by an officer, to who he gave the false name of "Francis Kelly".

The gunman continued to take drags from his cigarette after being walked over to the hard shoulder, where he too was told he was being held on suspicion of murder. Witham could be heard to quietly repeat "suspicion of murder" back to the PC and was seen to shake his head.

He then put his head back and puffed out his cheeks before nodding. The video then showed him apparently calling out to Peers, saying "hey, Joe" before adding an indecipherable comment.

Paul Greaney KC told a jury of five men and seven women during the prosecution's opening earlier this month that Witham and "driver" Peers, were "dispatched" to assassinate Harrison and "leave no witnesses". They had allegedly received their orders from Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz and Ian Fitzgibbon - who were said to have been "directing operations" from a flat on Pilch Lane in Huyton^[5].

The court heard that, at around 11.40pm on August 20 2022, two men approached Ashley’s white Volkswagen T-Roc car - which was parked outside the house - and slashed its tyres, causing the alarm to sound, in an effort to "lure" the occupants out. But it is thought Ashley believed the alarm had been set off by heavy rain and did not leave her house.

Mr Greaney said: "The men who had damaged the car were not deterred. Fifty minutes later, at about 12.30am, they returned.

"This time, they were not to be diverted from their intention to kill. One of the men approached the front door of 40 Leinster Road and he kicked it in.

"Ashley plainly became aware of what was happening. She screamed and fled towards the back door of the house, but the man entered the house and he pursued her.

"He was armed with a machine gun and opened fire. Ashley was struck by a bullet - it passed through her abdomen, causing catastrophic damage."

Mr Greaney said that "certain events at Glastonbury Festival^[6]" in June 2022 had "played an important part" in the alleged motive behind the attack, adding: "Ashley Dale and Lee Harrison, her boyfriend, attended the festival, as did at least four of the defendants - Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry, Ian Fitzgibbon and James Witham. A group of other young men from Liverpool were also present, one of whom was a person called Jordan Thompson - who was known as Dusty.

"Lee Harrison seems to have had an association with the group of which Dusty was part. Whilst at the festival, Sean Zeisz was assaulted and his attackers included Jordan Thompson.

"This attack appears to have occurred because Sean Zeisz was, as it was later expressed, arguing with everyone for Niall Barry - who was known as Branch. To compound the loss of face for Sean Zeisz, in the aftermath of the assault his girlfriend - a woman called Olivia, known as Liv, McDowell - stayed with the group of which Jordan Thompson, Lee Harrison and Ashley Dale were part.

"It is clear that Sean Zeisz felt deeply humiliated from what had happened at Glastonbury."

The court also heard that Barry then sided with Zeisz, with this "fresh" dispute having compounded a "separate and longstanding antagonism towards Lee Harrison". Mr Greaney said: "Niall Barry used these new events at Glastonbury to reignite that old feud and, as tensions simmered in Liverpool, Niall Barry made a series of threats directed towards Lee Harrison."

Witham, of Ashbury Road in Huyton, 28-year-old Zeisz, of Longreach Road in Huyton, 26-year-old Barry, of Moscow Drive in Tuebrook^[7], 29-year-old Peers, of Woodlands Road in Roby^[8], and 28-year-old Fitzgibbon, of Heigham Gardens in St Helens^[9], have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ashley Dale^[10], conspiracy to murder Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, namely a Skorpion submachine gun, and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Witham has admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.

A sixth man - 26-year-old Kallum Radford, of Trentham Road in Kirkby^[11] - denies assisting an offender. The trial, before Mr Justice Goose, continues.

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References

1. ^{^} Knowsley (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Old Swan (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Liverpool Crown Court (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Live updates from Ashley Dale murder trial (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Huyton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Glastonbury Festival (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Tuebrook (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Roby (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^{^} St Helens (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Ashley Dale (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
11. ^{^} Kirkby (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
12. ^{^} Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)