Ashley Dale: four men sentenced to life in prison after murder of 28-year-old environmental health worker

The four men who have been convicted of the murder of Ashley Dale have all been sentenced to life in prison.

Joseph Peers, James Witham, Sean Zeisz and Niall Barry have all been handed a life sentence with minimum terms between 41 and 47 years after a sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

The group was involved with the killing of the 28-year-old environmental health worker Ashley Dale in her home in Old Swan, Liverpool on 21 August 2022. Gunman Witham entered her home in the early hours and opened fire on her with a Skorpion submachine gun, while Barry and Zeisz helped to organise the crime and Peers, who was described as a "foot soldier", drove to the scene with Witham and had stabbed the tyres of Ms Dale's car earlier in the day in an attempt to get their attention.

Witham admitted to her manslaughter but denied murder, however himself, Peers, Zeisz and Barry were convicted of her murder on Monday 20 November. They were also found guilty of conspiracy to murder Ms Dale’s partner Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

The trial heard that the death of Ms Dale came amid a feud between the men and Mr Harrison, which had reignited at Glastonbury Festival, over claims that Mr Harrison had been attempting to steal drug customers in North Wales.