Moment gunman accused of murdering Ashley Dale gives fake name to police while smoking cigarette as he and co-accused are arrested after their Audi was pulled over on the M6
- James Witham, 41, tells police his name is ‘Francis Kelly’ when he is arrested
- Witham and four other defendants are on trial for the murder of Ashley Dale, 28
This is the moment Ashley Dale’s killer gives a fake name to police when he is pulled over on the motorway and arrested.
Environmental health worker Ashley Dale, 28, was shot with a Skorpion machine pistol at her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of August 21 last year and five men are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of her murder.
James Witham, 41, kicked down the door of her house, where she was spending the evening alone with her dachshund Darla, before entering and shooting her, a court heard previously.
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.
Witham was sat in the rear seat smoking a cigarette. He was placed into handcuffs by an officer, to who he gave the false name of ‘Francis Kelly’.
Ashley Dale, 28, was shot with a Skorpion machine pistol at her home in Old Swan, Liverpool
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?’
Meanwhile, Witham 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 police officer and was seen to shake his head.
The video then showed him calling out to Peers, saying ‘hey, Joe’ before adding an indecipherable comment.
Witham and four other defendants – Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, and Joseph Peers, 29 – deny her murder, which is alleged to have happened following a feud with her partner Lee Harrison.
The gunman 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.
Paul Greaney KC told the jury during the prosecution’s opening earlier this month that Witham and driver Peers, were ‘dispatched’ to assassinate Harrison and ‘leave no witnesses’.
Body cam footage issued by Merseyside Police of the arrest of James Witham
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.
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’ in June 2022 had ‘played an important part’ in the alleged motive behind the attack.
It is thought Ashley believed the alarm had been set off by rain and didn’t leave her house
Ashley Dales’ sister (who has requested not to be named), mother Julie Dale, stepfather Rob Jones and father Steve Dunne arriving at Liverpool Crown Court for the trial
He said: ‘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.’
Witham, Zeisz, Barry, Peers and Fitzgibbon have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ashley Dale, conspiracy to murder Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Witham has admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Radford, aged 26, denies assisting an offender. The trial, before Mr Justice Goose, continues.
References
- ^ Emily Davies (www.dailymail.co.uk)