Ashley Dale murder: Four men found guilty of killing council worker shot dead in Liverpool home

Four men have been found guilty of murdering council worker Ashley Dale. The 28-year-old was found fatally injured after a gunman burst into her home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, in Liverpool in the early hours of Sunday, August 21, 2022 and fired multiple shots. She was found in her garden by police at around 12.40am with a gunshot wound to her body.

Dale, who is not believed to be the intended target, was taken to hospital but died a short time later. A jury heard the intended target was her boyfriend, Lee Harrison, described in court as a drug dealer who was in a feud with a rival gang. He, however, wasn't at the property at the time of the attack.

James Witham, 41, Joseph Peers, 29, Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28 who initially denied the murder, have now been found guilty of murdering Dale. The fifth accused Ian Fitzgibbon, who was extradited from Spain after being arrested by the Spanish National Police, was cleared of the charge.