Man charged with Elle Edwards murder appears in court

Connor Chapman, 22, of no fixed address, appeared at Wirral Magistrates' Court

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Elle Edwards, who was shot at a Merseyside pub on Christmas Eve.

The 26-year-old beautician was shot in the head at about 23:50 GMT while celebrating Christmas with friends at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village.

Connor Chapman, 22, of no fixed address, appeared at Wirral Magistrates' Court for the hearing.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

Mr Chapman was also charged with:

• two counts of attempted murder - of Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld

• three counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm - to Harry Loughran, Nicholas Speed and Liam Carr

• possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, relating to a converted Scorpion sub-machine gun

• possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life

All of those charges relate to the incident on 24 December.

Mr Chapman, who has long hair and wore a grey tracksuit, was also charged with handling stolen goods, namely a Mercedes A Class car, between 22 and 26 December.

In an initial court appearance lasting about three minutes, he spoke in court only to confirm his name, date of birth and that he was of no fixed address.

A 23-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender was released on bail pending further inquiries, Merseyside Police said.

The 26-year-old beautician died shortly before midnight on 24 December

Paying tribute after his daughter's death, Tim Edwards said she was "the most beautiful and bright star".

Ms Edwards was described as "the glue that held this big family together".

"Everyone that met Elle knew how special she was."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]