Elle Edwards shooting: family say beautician killed on Christmas Eve was ‘most beautiful and bright star’

The family of Elle Edwards - who was shot dead on Christmas Eve - have paid tribute to their “most beautiful and bright star”.

The 26-year-old beautician was on a night out with family and friends at the Lighthouse Inn pub, in Wallasey Village, Merseyside, was she was hit in the head by a bullet. She was rushed to hospital, but tragically died. Police do not believe she was the target of the attack, and said the shocking violence could be linked to an ongoing gang feud in Wirral.

Three people have been arrested so far as part of the murder probe into Ms Edwards’ death. Merseyside Police announced on Friday (30 December) that two suspects have now been released.

What have Elle Edwards’ family said?

In their first public statement since Ms Edwards’ death, her family 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.

“Her laugh was infectious, anyone who was around her had a good time, she loved her life and had so many amazing plans for the future. 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.

“We will love and miss her forever. Our Elle May, the most beautiful and bright star out there, forever and always. My beautiful Elle Marlene is the love of my life and she is my world, my best friend. She will always shine and be beautiful and bright, my Elle has never gone.”

Ms Edwards' sister Lucy had flown home from Dubai to celebrate Christmas with her family. She left the pub before her sister was shot dead. MailOnline reported she posted on Instagram, saying: “My beautiful sister, my bestest friend, my second mummy and my rock. I love and miss you so, so much already. My Elle May.”

Ms Edwards is understood to have worked at a local beauty salon – Nova Studio – which posted on Instagram: “Absolutely lost for words… heaven gained the most beautiful angel. We are all heartbroken, thinking of all of your family right now Elle, thank you for all of the laughs and happiness you brought into our lives, rest in paradise angel, love from your team at Nova.”

What have police said?

Det Supt Sue Coombs told the media at Merseyside Police headquarters in Liverpool that Elle Edwards’ family “need answers”, and urged the community to come forward with information.

She said: “Elle’s family are understandably devastated by her shocking and needless death. They need answers and now it’s more important than ever that people come forward and tell us what they know.

“While I understand how worrying incidents such as this are, I want to reassure people that my investigation team is working round the clock to get justice for Elle and her family.”

She said: “We know that the answers to this lie within our communities. So my appeal to you is please tell us what you know and help us get justice for Elle’s family. Particularly, we want information about the whereabouts of a dark coloured Mercedes that was in the Lighthouse public house carpark before the incident. We want to know where it came from and where it’s gone since then.

“If you’ve got information but don’t want to speak to a police officer directly, please contact us via Crimestoppers. We are committed to finding the persons responsible for Ellie’s death and putting them behind bars. Silence is never an option, we need people to take a stand against criminals, we need you to speak to us so that we can take action. Let us know how is carrying and storing weapons, let us do the rest.”

Was the shooting gang related?

Asked whether the attack could be linked to an ongoing feud between gangs in Wirral, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: “We have seen over a number of months some level of escalation here. There has been real relentless activity in relation to the arrest of a number of people who are now behind bars or remanded in custody, significant seizures of drugs and weapons.”

He urged families of those involved in organised crime to come forward and said: “You have blood on your hands too if you’re a bystander or if you want to live off the profits being gained.” Police have said Ms Edwards was not believed to be the intended target of the attack.

Mr Critchley added: “Over the last few years we’ve seen the lowest number of (firearm) discharges in Merseyside but one discharge is one too many and clearly this is not the first time in Merseyside we’ve seen fatalities, particularly those caught up who were in the right place at the right time, the offenders were not – they were doing the wrong things that can’t be tolerated in our society.”

It’s the latest high-profile fatal shooting around Liverpool, after nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was gunned to death in her own home and council worker Ashley Dale was killed in her garden, within 24 hours in August.