Nick Garnett

Outlining the events of the night, the prosecution said Ashley would have felt "considerable terror in the moments before her death".

Image source, Family handout

The court heard Ashley was in her pyjamas in the front room when Witham burst in. She screamed, he ran after her and shot her.

The prosecution added: "This was an execution”, at which Witham, in the dock, hangs his head down and looks at the floor.

After shooting Ashley he went upstairs and fired the gun again - “to send a message to Ashley’s boyfriend”.

The prosecution says there are to be no mitigating factors to the crime to count one of murder.

Ashley’s mum said James Witham - who fired the fatal shot - had "destroyed our lives" after a jury found him guilty of her murder.

Julie Dale, 46, said: "We've not seen one ounce of remorse from him whatsoever in this trial.

“He's sat there and I've not seen one tear."

Nick Garnett

Joseph Peers has previously been convicted of 11 previous offences for low-level crimes, including driving, public disorder and drugs.

Niall Barry has four previous convictions, for possession of controlled drugs including cannabis and cocaine.

Sean Seisz has six previous convictions, including for distribution of cocaine and cannabis and handling stolen goods.

In April 2016 he was sentenced to 16 months for actual bodily harm and assault.

Nick Garnett

The prosecution has given out details about each of the men due to be sentenced.

Before Monday Witham, who shot Ashley, had been convicted of 37 previous offences, involving dishonesty and drugs, along with one case of actual bodily harm, dating back to 2002.

He has no previous convictions for firearms.

Witham was last in front of the courts for possession of ketamine and cannabis, and was also involved in supplying Class A and Class B drugs.

He is to be sentenced for three offences, murder, conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

During the trial, the court heard that since his girlfriend's death, Lee Harrison had been "totally unco-operative" with police, and had been to Dubai on several occasions.

Ashley’s stepfather Rob Jones said: "The problem we keep coming back to is Ashley fell in love with the wrong boy.

"I'm not saying for one minute Ashley did not love him, I'm saying he doesn't love her, clearly, by actions."

Julie Dale, 46, said she felt "very, very angry" towards Lee Harrison, who had been in a relationship with her daughter for about five years before her death.

"Some days I feel like I'm more angry towards him than I am to the person who's actually killed Ashley because without Lee Harrison this wouldn't have happened," she said.

The sentencing hearing has begun at Liverpool Crown Court.

The four men due to be sentenced for Ashley Dale's murder are in the dock and have given their names to the court.

The prosecution is now giving out details of each of the men.

The jury was told Niall Barry's feud with Lee Harrison started about three years before the shooting.

The court heard Lee Harrison (below, left, pictured with Barry) sided with the Hillside organised crime group after they allegedly stole drugs from Barry.

Image source, Merseyside Police

The feud was reignited when both went to Glastonbury in June 2022, the prosecution said.

Ian Fitzgibbon, who was cleared of Ashley’s murder, told the jury he had seen Barry threatening to stab her boyfriend during the festival.

Nick Garnett

We're in court 5:1 on the fifth floor of Liverpool Crown Court.

There have been three big trials this year involving high profile murders on Merseyside, Thomas Cashman, Connor Chapman and this one.

Cashman was convicted of murdering Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Connor Chapman was convicted of shooting Elle Edwards on Christmas Eve in Wirral and this trial.

What will happen today is the judge will listen to the legal teams for the prosecution and the defendants.

The prosecution will put forward the relevant sections of the sentencing guidelines which they suggest the judge should take into account before passing sentence on each of the four men who were convicted on Monday.

Then their legal teams will be given a chance to put forward mitigation for each of their clients.

The judge will then retire for a short time before sentencing the guilty men.

In the final months of her life, Ashley Dale voiced her mounting fears and anxieties in voice notes to her friends.

These messages would prove instrumental in convicting those responsible for her cold-blooded murder - some of these voice notes were sent just 30 minutes before she was shot dead.

"It's the first time I have ever seen the evidence of the murder victim play such a crucial role in a court case," said Det Ch Insp Cath Cummings, who was the senior investigating officer.

"Ashley was narrating her own story and events that led up to her death."

Read more about the police investigation

Ashley Dale spent the night at home while her boyfriend Lee Harrison was out with friends.

She was watching television with her dachshund Darla when James Witham burst in.

Image source, Merseyside Police

Witham, who admitted being the gunman but denied murder, fired 10 bullets from a Skorpion sub-machine gun - one hitting Ashley in the abdomen as she stood by the back door.

Joseph Peers was described in court as a "foot soldier" after he drove a Hyundai to the scene and earlier helped Witham to stab tyres on Ashley’s car in an attempt to lure the couple out of the house.

Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz were found to have helped organise and encourage the killing, which came after a feud with Ashley’s boyfriend Lee Harrison.

Four men are due to be sentenced after being found guilty of murdering Ashley Dale following a feud involving her boyfriend.

The 28-year-old environmental health officer was shot when gunman James Witham opened fire in her home in Liverpool in the early hours of 21 August 2022.

Witham, 41, will be sentenced alongside Joseph Peers, 29, Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 28, at the same court later.

The men were also convicted of conspiracy to murder Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon - a Skorpion sub-machine gun - and ammunition.