Elle Edwards death: man, 23, denies murder over Christmas Eve shooting at Merseyside pub

A man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of beautician Elle Edwards, who was shot to death in a pub on Christmas Eve.

Connor Chapman, 23, of no fixed address, faces a total of nine charges in connection with the shooting at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral. Ms Edwards, 26, was fatally shot just before midnight but is not believed to have been the intended target of the attack, which left four men injured.

Chapman is also charged with possessing a converted Scorpion sub-machine gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life. The other counts against him are the attempted murder of Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld, and the unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm of Harry Loughran, Nicholas Speed and Liam Carr.

He is also charged with handling stolen goods, a Mercedes A Class car, between December 22 and 26 last year.

Ms Edwards was fatally shot at the Lighthouse pub shortly before midnight on 24 December. The beautician, who had been out celebrating with friends, was later pronounced dead in hospital. In a tribute, her father Tim Edwards read out a statement on behalf of the family at a press conference held by Merseyside Police five days after the shooting.

He said: “There was no-one as beautiful as our Elle May – her looks, her laugh, and the way she would light up a room as soon as she walked in. She had this way about her that as soon as you met her, you just instantly fell in love with her, everyone that met Elle knew how special she was.

“She was only just getting started. Christmas and our family will never be the same again without her. She was the glue that held this big family together, from all of us.”