Elle Edwards murderer Connor Chapman to appear before the Court of Appeal
Connor Chapman, the man who murdered Elle Edwards, will come before the Court of Appeal later this month after he killed the beautician in a botched gangland hit.
"Wholly innocent" Elle, 26, was on a night out with her sister and friends when she was killed by a hail of bullets outside the Lighthouse pub, Wallasey, on Christmas Eve 2022. She was struck in the head and died almost instantly while five men were also injured.
Chapman described as a "highly dangerous" convicted drug dealer, was found guilty of Elle's murder following a three-and-a-half week trial at Liverpool Crown Court and was sentenced to at least 48 years in prison. He was also found guilty of a litany of other offences including attempted murder. Chapman will now appear before the Court of Appeal on February 29, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The fixed hearing is listed on the government's HM Courts & Tribunals Service Court of Appeal website. The listing does not mention if Chapman is appealing against his conviction or sentencing. The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales and deals only with appeals from other courts.
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Elle Edwards was shot in the head by Chapman outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, on Christmas Eve (PA)Mr Justice Goose, trial judge in the Chapman case, previously told Liverpool Crown Court: “Shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve, the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village was busy with revellers enjoying the season and looking forward to Christmas day. Six of them found themselves outside the building. They were Elle Edwards, Kieran Salkeld, Jake Duffy, Harry Loughran, Liam Carr, and Nicholas Speed.
"They were not all together, they just happened to be there. What you did to them was as wicked as it was shocking. You murdered Elle Edwards, bringing to an end her young life. You attempted to murder Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld causing them very serious injury.
"You obtained a submachine gun loaded with 12 bullets and prepared to fire all of them. Your intention was to murder Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld. You didn’t care who else would be killed. That’s why you fired all the bullets at the group. I’m satisfied you are a highly dangerous man.
"It’s utterly shocking you carefully planned a revenge attack in a gang rivalry. You had no thought for anyone else. The risks of what you did were as high as they were obvious."
During the trial Nigel Power, KC, prosecuting, described career criminal Chapman as “at the heart” of the Woodchurch estate organised crime group. That group, he said, was engaged in a violent, tit-for-tat feud with a rival group of criminals based around the Beechwood/Ford estate, on the opposite side of the M53 motorway.
Beautician Elle Edwards was out with her sister and friends when she was shot (PA)Somehow, Chapman became aware that several of his enemies were celebrating in the busy Lighthouse pub that evening. Rather than forget the rivalry for one night and spend his first Christmas Eve out of a prison cell in four years with his partner and young daughter, Chapman instead opted to collect a Skorpion sub-machine gun, capable of discharging around 15 rounds in under one second, and hopped in that stolen Mercedes.
CCTV footage showed how he staked out the pub for nearly three hours before taking his shot. Inside, meanwhile, Elle was recorded on CCTV happily chatting with her friends. At one stage she even left for a period to go to another pub, before dropping her sister Lucy off at home and returning to the Lighthouse.
At 11.47pm, Elle left the pub for a cigarette where she was seen on CCTV chatting to the other victims. Tragically for Elle, she was stood next to Beechwood gang associates Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy.
In the carpark, Chapman, with his trademark long brown hair and face covered by a hood or balaclava, was loitering. Harrowing CCTV footage, played again and again in the trial as Elle’s family looked on, showed him stepping out from the side of the pub and unleashing 12 shots, simultaneously backing towards the getaway car. Elle slumped forwards, instantly unconscious, landing on Salkeld who had fallen straight onto his back.
During the sentence hearing, Elle's dad Tim read a harrowing victim impact statement. He said: "On December 24 2022 my daughter was doing what every young person should be doing at Christmas. Looking forward to Christmas Day with her family. That will never happen again.
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“She was the most caring, beautiful, happy person. She was the one every kid went to for help, or maybe just a hug. Her permanent smile would light up any room she entered. She would always greet you with a hug and ask how are you doing. She always gave the best hugs, and it was always enough to lift you if you were having a bad day.
"Elle was trying her hardest to make something of herself. She always got to where she wanted to be. She was reaching her peak and the happiest I've ever seen her. She had such a bright future."
Chapman was sentenced for Elle's murder, the attempted murders of Salkeld and Duffy, wounding Mr Loughran and Mr Carr with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and assaulting Mr Speed causing actual bodily harm. He was also convicted of possessing an prohibited weapon and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Accomplice Thomas Waring was jailed for nine years for his role in helping Chapman after the murder of Elle. Four suspects appeared before Liverpool Crown Court this week charged with assisting an offender in relation to the murder.
According to charge sheets, 42-year-old David Chambers - of no fixed address - is accused of arranging the hire of a Volkswagen T-Cross to be used by Chapman. Danielle Dowdall, aged 34 and of Woodchurch, is said to have disposed of the gunman's clothing.
Fifty-four-year-old Paul Owen, of Woodchurch, is alleged to have assisted in the disposal of the Mercedes A-Class used during the shooting. And 33-year-old Roxanne Rooney - also known as Roxanne Matthews and of Noctorum - faces two charges of assisting an offender by allegedly hiring the Volkswagen car and booking a lodge at Penllwyn Lodges, Mid-Wales, to be used by Chapman.
All four spoke to confirm their names and dates of birth before pleading not guilty, and are now due to face a trial over the course of three to four weeks beginning on September 2 this year.
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