Elle Edwards’ father, Tim Edwards, speaking at an earlier press conference in Liverpool; Elle Edwards, who was fatally shot on Christmas Eve
(Picture: ES Composite)The father of Elle Edwards - a 26-year-old fatally shot in a Merseyside pub on December 24 - says Christmas “will never be the same” following her death.
Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets of Ms Edwards’ hometown to pay their respects when her funeral takes place on Wednesday.
The beautician was shot at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, while on a night out with friends shortly before midnight on December 24.
In an emotional new interview ahead of her funeral, Ms Edwards’ father Tim recalled finding out on Christmas Eve his daughter - “a fantastic human being with a heart of gold” - had been killed.
“Christmas Day didn’t mean anything, that had gone,” he told Sky News.
“It didn’t feel real and Christmas will never be the same. Christmas will never be a point of celebration for me, ever.”
Ms Edwards is not believed to have been the intended target of the attack, in which four men were also hurt.
Mr Edwards described his daughter as “beautiful, inside and out”.
“She’s the type of person that would walk into the room and everyone would gravitate towards her because she was always smiling,” he said.
“She was beautiful looking and she was a great hugger. She was just a fantastic human being with a heart of gold...She was special.”
He added that attending his daughter’s funeral is “going to be terrible”.
“But it’s part of the process and it’s something that has to be done,” he added.
“And then we move on to the next thing and keep going. But she will always be here. She’ll never leave me. She’ll live on forever.”
Mr Edwards is reportedly hoping to set up a foundation in his daughter’s name to help reduce gun violence.
“It should never happened - it shouldn’t happen to anybody,” he told Sky News.
“But I can’t change that. So I don’t waste energy on thinking ifs and buts - it’s got to be forward.
“There’s no winners with gun crime. You pick up a gun or you pick up a knife, your future is over, and everybody else’s futures around you is over.
“It’s dead simple - do not pick that knife up. Do not pick up that gun. It is absolutely pointless. It solves nothing.
“I want to see a positive that comes out of this. Elle’s name will be used for good in the future. She can’t be forgotten.”
“She was just getting going,” he added, speaking of his sadness over the fact his daughter was robbed of her life at such a young age.
“She had her focus, she had her own ambitions, and she was achieving them and everything was set in place for her and it was just taken away, and that’s sad,” he said.
”[Elle was] just a fantastic human being. Beautiful. Heart of gold. I’m just glad I had the time with her that I did.”
Connor Chapman, 22, of Houghton Road, Woodchurch, has been charged with Ms Edwards’ murder.
He has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder, three counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, and handling stolen goods.
