The devastated dad of Elle Edwards broke down in tears as his daughter's "scumbag" killer was found guilty of her murder.
Beautiful and warm Elle, 26, was in the pub with her friends on Christmas Eve when she was fatally shot in Wallasey, Merseyside. Connor Chapman, 23, was today found guilty of being the masked gunman who fired at crowds outside the Lighthouse Inn with a submachine gun last year.
During the four-week trial, the court heard that the drug dealer had set off in a stolen black Mercedes with a Skorpion submachine gun to kill two others in a gangland feud.
But it was beautician and dental nurse, Elle, who died as she stood chatting to one of Chapman's intended targets.
Paying tribute, her tearful dad Tim Edwards claimed he was "lucky enough to be both her father and best friend".
He said: "I think Elle’s legacy hopefully will be something that people draw a bit of positivity from. She was a caring person, she would give more of her time to other people than she did to herself. If she can be remembered for that and for her warmth and her young 26-year-old happy-go-lucky life that she was living.
"She wouldn’t want you sitting around moping and going downhill, she wouldn’t want that, she’d want you to live the best life you possibly can. That was the way she approached people or dealt with people, she’d lift your spirits.
"I was lucky enough to be her father but we were also like best mates so there’s loads of good memories of laughter and stupid things that we did together, which you wouldn’t be able to print."
Throughout the trial at Liverpool crown court, Elle's brave family had stared down Chapman everyday. The remorseless killer, though, was too cowardly to face them today.
Tim said: "He’s a scumbag isn’t he? An absolute scumbag. No remorse, not one ounce, not one sign of regret for what he’s done. If anything, arrogant to actually believe he can pull the wool over people’s eyes and get away with it. I couldn’t care less about that thing.
"He’s never made eye contact. He did when he first initially walked in but it was very short. He’s never looked again. I'm the bigger man."
The court heard that Chapman, of no fixed address, had already been slapped with a gang injunction before he killed Elle.
The injunction prevented him from going onto the Woodchurch estate as police tried to calm tensions between the Woodchurch and Beechwood/Ford gangs in the area.
Tim said: "I’ve known that feud was going on for years. Feuds have happened forever but it’s always been, in the past I suppose, dealt with by fist fights or groups going at each other in a pub or whatever, but now it’s come to the point where they’re shooting each other. It’s not really a surprise but it’s surprising the manner that it’s resulted in the death of my daughter who had nothing to do with any of it."
Chapman claimed he had been wrapping presents on the night of Elle's murder but CCTV showed how he had laid in wait for his intended victims, Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld.
A crucial eye witness statement also identified Chapman by his long hair which she saw poking out of his balaclava.
Further clips and telephone evidence showed how he had turned up at the home of his criminal accomplice, Thomas Waring, 20, before the pair disposed of the gun and the stolen car by driving it 20 miles away and torching it.
The jury of seven women and five men found Chapman guilty of Elle's murder and Waring guilty of the possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender by helping to burn out the stolen Mercedes, used in the shooting.
Chapman was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, wounding of three others injured in the shooting, possession of a firearm with intent to danger life and possession of a stolen vehicle.
He will be sentenced at 2pm tomorrow. For Elle's dad, mum Gaynor and her three siblings, Connor, Lucy and George, Christmas will never be the same.
But the family are determined to ensure Elle's name is used for good, by setting up a foundation in her memory.
Tim said: "Unfortunately Elle was his last victim but thankfully she will be the last person he does anything to and he can fade away. We’ve got justice and we can start going forward."
