A 23-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to murdering a beautician who was shot dead outside a pub on Merseyside on Christmas Eve.
Elle Edwards, 26, is believed to have been an innocent bystander when a gunman opened fire outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village in Wirral.
Connor Chapman pleaded not guilty to her murder and eight other offences as he appeared via video link at Liverpool crown court on Thursday.
Edwards was celebrating with friends when she was struck in the head by several shots fired towards the entrance of the Lighthouse pub shortly before midnight on 24 December.
Four men were also wounded, including a 28-year-old who was critically hurt but whose condition is no longer life-threatening.
Chapman, wearing a grey tracksuit and with shoulder-length hair, spoke only to enter his pleas and to confirm his name during the hearing, which lasted about 35 minutes.
Appearing via video link from HMP Manchester, he entered not guilty pleas to the charges of attempted murder of Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld and three counts of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Harry Loughran, Nicholas Speed and Liam Carr.
He also denied possession of a converted Škorpion submachine gun and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life, as well as handling stolen goods – a Mercedes A-class vehicle – between 22 and 26 December.
A second defendant, Thomas Waring, 20, entered not guilty pleas to two charges: possession of a Škorpion submachine gun and assisting an offender by helping dispose of the car allegedly used by Chapman after the shooting.
Judge Menary KC, honorary recorder of Liverpool, remanded both defendants into custody before their trial at Liverpool crown court, scheduled to begin on 12 June.
In the wake of Edwards’s murder, her father, Tim Edwards, has campaigned to raise awareness of the devastating impact that gun and knife crime has on families.
Last month, he completed a charity walk to raise money for Weapons Down Gloves Up – an initiative aimed at diverting people away from crime and into sports such as boxing.
He said at the time: “If I think about my home town, it feels as if there’s unprecedented gun crime and violence, often with innocent young people getting hurt.
“I want to do anything I can to help this cause and the families impacted. If I can prevent one death, or if I can prevent a father or a mother losing their child, well that would be something, wouldn’t it?”
