Council worker Ashley Dale, 28, was shot next to bar stool in her kitchen as she tried to flee her killer by the back door, murder trial told

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Council worker Ashley Dale was shot at she stood next to a bar stool in her kitchen, a firearms expert told her murder trial today.

The 28 year old was probably trying to reach her back door after coming out of her living room in her bid to flee the gunman who had burst into her home, a jury was told.

Forensic firearms scientist Andre De Villiers Horne told Liverpool Crown Court that the bullet which killed Ashley was found embedded in the bar stool in the kitchen of her home in Leinster Road in the Old Swan district of the city.

He said the measurements of the entry and exit wounds of the 9mm short calibre bullet were consistent with Ashley standing next to the stool where the bullet was found.

Mr Horne told the jury: 'This is entirely consistent with her standing next to the bar stool when the bullet struck her. She facing toward the door into her back yard.'

Council worker Ashley Dale was shot at she stood next to a bar stool in her kitchen, a firearms expert told her murder trial today

Gunman James Whitham, 41, (pictured being arrested at Glastonbury festival in June 2022) is accused of kicking down the door of Ms Dale's terraced home, chasing her through her terraced house in Old Swan, Liverpool, and opening fire on her with a Cold War-era Skorpion sub machine gun

He said the position of bullet casing and bullet found at the scene indicated that the gunman had moved through the hallway and dining room into the kitchen area.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC asked: 'What was happening in relation to the movements of these two people?'

READ MORE: PHOTO OF ASHLEY DALE WITH GUNMAN WHO SHOT HER DEAD IN BOTCHED HIT WAS FOUND ON HER PHONE 

 

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Mr Horne said: 'We know he came through the front door . The only escape route for Ashley to exit the house was through the back door. My expectation is that she was moving toward the rear door because it was the only route of escape.

'If you have someone in the hallway, you are not going to be moving toward them. When the door was smashed in, she had moved toward the rear door and the shooter was firing in the same direction. He was firing shots in the direction that Ashley was attempting to escape.'

The court has heard that there were two bursts of machine gun fire - one with five shots upstairs and one with nine shots downstairs.

Cross examined by Mr Richard Pratt KC, for the gunman James Witham, Mr Horne admitted that he could not tell which set of shots was fired first.

The expert had told the jury that the bullets came from a Skorpion sub machine pistol which has been in production since 1961 and was capable of firing 15 shots per second when in full automatic mode.

Witham, 41, has admitted firing the shots but claims he did not know Ashley was in the house and that she was shot 'by accident'.

He admits manslaughter but denies murder.

Forensic scientist Heather McKinlay, said that Witham's DNA had been found on a bullet under a bed in the rear bedroom of the house. 

Ashley's own DNA had been found on the fatal bullet recovered from the back of the bar stool in the kitchen, she said. 

The expert was questioned about a jacket which was found in a flat in Pilch Lane, Huyton which the prosecution claims was the 'centre of operations' for the planned murder of Ashley's partner Lee Harrison.

Ms McKinlay said that DNA profiles of both Sean Zeisz and James Witham were found on samples taken from a pocket.

She said that the DNA of Joseph Peers, who is alleged to have driven Witham to and from the shooting, was found on a bottle top recovered from the getaway car.

The court heard that the DNA of Kallum Radford, who is accused of hiding the car after the shooting, was found a nearside interior door handle.

The prosecution claim that Witham was driven to and from the shooting by Joseph Peers, 29.

The court has heard the two men were the 'foot soldiers' in a plan to murder Ashley's partner Lee Harrison, 26, in August last year after an old feud between rival factions had been re-ignited by violent clashes at the Glastonbury music festival.

The prosecution claim that the organisers of the murder plot were Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, and Ian Fitzgibbon, 28.

Forensic officers outside the address where Ms Dale lost her life in Old Swan, Liverpool, on August 21 last year 

Forensic firearms scientist Andre De Villiers Horne told Liverpool Crown Court that the bullet which killed Ashley was found embedded in the bar stool in the kitchen of her home in Leinster Road in the Old Swan district of the city 

Ms Dale's sister (left), her mother Julie Dale (centre) and stepfather Rob Jones (right) arriving at Liverpool Crown Court for the trial of Ian Fitzgibbon, Niall Barry, Sean Zeisz, Joseph Peers and James Witham on October 2 

All five men deny the murder of Ashley, conspiracy to murder Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

A six man, Kallum Radford, 26, denies assisting and offender by hiding the car used in the shooting.

The trial continues.

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