Ashley Dale: Gunman told police he was 'stitched up', court hears

Ashley Dale is not believed to have been the intended target of the attack

A gunman who killed a woman in her home told police he had been "stitched up", a court has heard.

Ashley Dale, 28, was shot in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of 21 August 2022 by James Witham, who admits manslaughter.

A jury has been told Ms Dale was not the intended target and her death was alleged to have happened following a feud with her partner, Lee Harrison.

Five men on trial, including Witham, deny Ms Dale's murder.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Witham, 41, had been arrested on the M6 in Cumbria on 13 September 2022 and was taken to a Liverpool police station where he was interviewed.

He exercised his right to silence during his first two interviews, apart from saying "nothing to do with it mate, not a clue".

The front door of Ms Dale's home was kicked in before she was shot, the court heard

Alex Langhorn, prosecuting, said that after a third interview - in which Witham was silent, apart from telling police he had size seven feet - he was taken back to his cell and told officers he had been "set up, the car was Davo's and he'd been told not to say anything".

Mr Langhorn continued: "Mr Witham told them he was being 'stitched up, it is not right' and asked to speak to his solicitor."

The jury heard Witham told officers he "did not want to come across as a grass" but said the car belonged to another associate, David McCaig, who had crashed it the day before, and they needed to do more inquiries into it.

He spoke to his solicitor, who then told officers that Witham no longer wanted to talk, the jury heard.

The jury has previously been shown footage of Joseph Peers (left) and James Witham in a shop before the shooting

Four other defendants - Sean Zeisz, 28, Niall Barry, 26, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, and Joseph Peers, 29 - have also pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Dale.

The court was told that Mr Zeisz gave a prepared statement when he was interviewed on 30 August 2022, in which he said he understood his arrest was a result of intelligence.

He said: "This intelligence is incorrect and categorically untrue. I have nothing to add at this time. I am not involved in this matter."

In a prepared statement given at a later interview, he said: "I wish to make it clear I am disgusted by what has happened."

He said that on the evening of 20 August, he went to buy food from a chip shop in Huyton and was invited to watch a boxing match at a flat on Pilch Lane by Mr Peers, where Mr Witham and Mr Barry were.

He said Mr Witham left with Mr Peers after becoming "rowdy".

Mr Zeisz told police he rang Mr Peers to ask him to bring back some cigarettes, the court heard.

The pair later returned and Mr Zeisz said he slept at the flat after smoking cannabis.

The prosecution has alleged the flat was the "centre of operations" for a murder plot.

The trial, which is expected to last eight weeks, is being held at Liverpool Crown Court

All five men have also denied conspiracy to murder Mr Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition.

Police staff investigator David Rawsthorne told Liverpool Crown Court he and officers had been to see Mr Harrison on a number of occasions since Miss Dale's death, but he did "not want to engage".

He described him as "totally uncooperative".

He said Mr Harrison, who had been in a relationship with Miss Dale for five years, told police he was out with friends on the night of her shooting and had drunk alcohol and taken cocaine.

Mr Rawsthorne said Mr Harrison had seen the police cordon, at the end of Leinster Road, on his way back from a nightclub to a flat in the early hours of the morning.

The court heard he said he had "no idea" why he or Miss Dale would be targeted and "vehemently denied" he was under threat.

He told police he did not believe the men on trial were capable or responsible as he was "fine with them", except one of them whom he refused to name, Mr Rawsthorne confirmed.

The trial continues.

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