Elle Edwards murder: Connor Chapman has sentence appeal rejected

Connor Chapman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years

The man who murdered Elle Edwards outside a busy pub in Wirral has had an appeal against his sentence rejected.

Connor Chapman, 23, opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun towards the entrance of the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village on Christmas Eve in 2022 as part of a gang feud.

Ms Edwards, 26, an innocent bystander, was shot twice and five others were injured.

Chapman was given a life sentence with a 48-year minimum term.

At a hearing in London, senior judges rejected Chapman's appeal against the length of his prison sentence.

Elle Edwards, a beautician, had been enjoying a festive drink when she was shot dead

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, who considered the case alongside Mrs Justice May and Mr Justice Foxton, said they concluded the sentence was "severe, but not manifestly excessive".

During his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, jurors heard Chapman was attempting to kill two men - Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy - who were stood close to where Ms Edwards was sitting on a raised flowerbed.

Salkeld and Duffy were linked to a rival gang based in Wirral's Beechwood estate, on the opposite side of the M53 motorway to Chapman's home estate of Woodchurch.

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Chapman lay in wait outside the pub in Wallasey Village for almost three hours before firing the weapon.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge labelled Chapman a "highly dangerous man" who "didn't care" who was hit when he opened fire.

Speaking after the trial, Ms Edwards' father, Tim, said he hoped Chapman "rots in hell".

He said: "I can't begin to understand how someone's mind says 'we'll get in a car and we'll drive to a pub full of people, with a machine gun, and I'm going to open it up and fire it into that pub'.

"Where does that thought come from? Who has that thought?"

Describing his daughter, he added: "How can I put across how she was to people who didn't know her? Great, beautiful, kind, giving.

"Always looking out for people, especially her family. Bubbly. Always had a laugh.

"She set her own goals and was achieving them. And she did it with a smile on her face."