A man has been found guilty of murdering a beautician who was caught up in a shooting outside a pub on Christmas Eve.
Elle Edwards' death was described as a “human tragedy in its purest and most appalling sense” during a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Connor Chapman, 23, denied being responsible, but today a jury found him guilty of the 26-year-old's murder.
Tim Edwards, Elle's father, kept his eyes were fixed upon the dock where Chapman was sat and punched the air with delight as the verdict was delivered. He called Chapman a "scumbag" when he addressed reporters outside the court after the hearing.
Other members of her distraught family were heard to cry “yes”, and several burst into tears as the verdicts were read out.
Following the verdicts, Elle's family has released, via Merseyside Police, several poignant videos to honour her, including one of her cuddling her little nephew Roman.
Elle was killed when Chapman opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, Merseyside, shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve.
In his closing speech on Tuesday, Nigel Power KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “This is a trial that not just you 12 but many, many people will never forget. It involves human tragedy in its purest and most appalling sense.
“Gun crime often includes criminals shooting at each other, there’s no doubt that this is such an event, but of course here a young, beautiful, unconnected, innocent life was brutally ended as a direct result of the then ongoing, but for now at least paused, gun feud between the Ford estate on Wirral on the one hand and the Woodchurch estate on the other hand.”
Chapman, from the Woodchurch estate, is believed to have been targeting Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld, from the Ford or Beechwood estate, after a series of violent incidents involving people from the two areas.
The court has heard that Chapman was served with an injunction in the months before the shooting, aimed at preventing gang-related violence.
Mr Power said: “Those injunctions served on him were about as much use as a chocolate teapot. They were treated with utter contempt by him.”
He told the court the CCTV evidence alone presented a “compelling case” against Chapman.
Referring to footage appearing to show the gunman, with long hair, drop the weapon after driving to an address following the shooting, Mr Power said: “Whoever that person is, he may not have Bette Davis eyes, but he’s got Connor Chapman’s hair.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the jury was told that Chapman’s co-defendant, Thomas Waring, accused of assisting an offender and possessing a prohibited weapon, would not give evidence in the case.
Mr Power said: “It was the ultimate in cowardice. He wouldn’t put his money where his mouth is, wouldn’t back it up with evidence. Thomas Waring effectively waved the white flag of surrender to evidence against him in terms of possessing that gun.”
Mark Rhind KC, defending Chapman, told the jury the case against his client was “circumstantial”.
He said: “There might be cases where evidence seems to be compelling from one perspective but when you look at it carefully and when you examine it it falls apart.”
Connor Chapman was today also found guilty of the attempted murder of Kieran Salkeld, attempted murder of Jake Duffy, wounding with intent of Harry Loughran, wounding with intent of Liam Carr and assault occasioning actual bodily harm of Nicholas Speed.
He was also found guilty of possession of a Skorpion sub-machine gun with intent to endanger life and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Thomas Waring was found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender.
Speaking after the verdicts were delivered, Elle Edwards' dad Tim said: “It just means he’s off the streets, someone else is not going to suffer at the hands of him. Unfortunately Elle was his last victim but thankfully she will be the last person he does anything to and he can go fade away. We’ve got justice and we can start going forward then.
"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.
"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."
Mr Edwards said the impact of attending Chapman’s trial, during which he and his family had to sit through harrowing CCTV footage showing the moment Elle was shot, was yet to be seen.
Despite his attempts to look the defendant in the eye as he sat in the dock, Mr Edwards said Chapman, who the court heard had been in and out of custody for many years, had avoided eye contact with him.
For Mr Edwards, news of the feud did not come as a surprise, he added: “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 and she’s in a pub on Christmas Eve doing what any young girl should be doing, having a drink, having a good time, waiting to go and spend her Christmas with her family and some scumbag walks in and thinks he can open fire on a pub on Christmas Eve.
“I can’t get my head around where that thought process comes from.”
Following the trial, Mr Edwards hopes for a “new future” in which Ms Edwards can leave a positive legacy, adding: “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.”
Work is under way to set up a foundation in her name which can help others.
“I’m going to focus more on it and hopefully come up with an end goal of what we’re going to try and achieve in Elle’s name. We’ll figure that out soon enough, she’ll tell us which way to go with it.”
Senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Superintendent Paul Grounds, described Chapman as a “dangerous and ruthless individual”.
He said: “Connor Chapman knew exactly what he was doing when he left his home address on December 24, getting in a stolen car in possession of a Skorpion machine pistol. He drove to the Lighthouse pub where he spent a number of hours there before finding a car parking space that gave him a real clear view of who was outside.
“He then left his car with no regard for anybody else, intent on firing that gun at his intended targets, Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, with not a care of what would happen to anybody else who was stood outside of the pub.”
