Ashley Dale lovingly cuddles 'spooked' pet dog an hour before she is shot dead
A heartbreaking video has emerged showing tragic Ashley Dale playing with her pet dog hours before she was murdered.
Four men were today convicted of the 28-year-old's murder after she was shot dead in her back garden. Environmental health officer Ashley Dale, 28, was killed when gunman James Witham, 41, forced open the door of her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of August 21 last year, firing 10 bullets in her dining room, one hitting Ms Dale in the abdomen as she stood by the back door, and five bullets into the wall of an upstairs bedroom.
During the trial, messages she sent to family and friends prior to the her death were read out. She joked how her miniature Dachshund, Darla, had been spooked by something outside and sent a selfie of the pair together to her friend less than an hour before she was shot dead. She told her mum her car alarm was going off and said her dog was 'scared', jurors were told.
At the time her messages were being sent, the men who allegedly killed her were outside slashing the tyres of her car, prosecutors said. Ms Dale's family were in tears in courts as her messages were read out. In a video clip, Ashley is seen lying on the sofa with Darla and giggles as the dog paws her face.
Ashley Dale with her dachshund Darla (PA)Witham admitted her manslaughter but a jury at Liverpool Crown Court also found him guilty of her murder, along with fellow "foot soldier" Joseph Peers, 29, who the prosecution alleged drove a Hyundai to the scene and earlier helped Witham to stab tyres on Ms Dale's car in an attempt to lure out the occupants of the house.
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Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 28, were also convicted of murder after the jury heard they organised and encouraged the killing, which came after a feud between Miss Dale's boyfriend Lee Harrison and Barry was re-ignited when Zeisz was assaulted at the Glastonbury festival last year.
The last photo ever taken of Ashley as she watched TV with her dog (Liverpool Echo)
Ashley was shot dead in her own back garden (PA)Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, who was also accused of organising or encouraging the killing, was found not guilty of murder. Kallum Radford, 26, was found not guilty of assisting an offender by helping to store the car used in the murder.
Some family members of the defendants left the court in tears after verdicts were returned. As Barry's mother left the court she mouthed "I love you" towards the dock. Ms Dale's mother Julie, 46, cried as the jury returned the first guilty verdict at about 2.30pm on Monday.
Ashley's boyfriend Lee Harrison (left) was once good friends with Niall Barry (right) who is accused of being involved (PA)A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard Ms Dale's own voice describing the falling out between her partner and Barry, as voicenotes which she recorded and sent to friends in the two months before her murder were played to the jury. The phone, recovered an arm's length from where Ms Dale was found in her back garden, had been used in her final moments to try to call Mr Harrison, who was out with friends while she spent the night at home, watching television with Darla.
The trial heard Barry's feud with Mr Harrison, who did not co-operate with police after his girlfriend's death, started about three years before the shooting when Mr Harrison sided with the Hillside organised crime group after they allegedly stole drugs from Barry.
Police on Leinster Road, Old Swan, Liverpool, following the murder (Liverpool Echo)The feud was re-ignited when both attended the Glastonbury festival in June 2022, the prosecution alleged. Fitzgibbon, who flew to Dubai after the shooting and was extradited from Spain in August, told the jury he had witnessed Barry threatening to stab Mr Harrison during the festival. Sentencing will take place on Wednesday at 11am.
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