The mum of murdered Ashley Dale said her family now has "somewhere to take time out and remember" thanks to a poignant tribute from the 28-year-old's "devastated" work colleagues.
Julie Dale, 46, spoke to the ECHO in Court Hey Park, Huyton, where Knowsley Council have installed a memorial bench and a cherry blossom tree to "ensure her memory lives on". Ashley was killed on August 21 last year when a gunman burst into her home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, and fired "multiple shots indiscriminately" with a sub-machine gun.
Merseyside Police, who have said they do not believe Ashley was the intended target, have charged five men in connection with her murder and a trial is due to take place at Liverpool Crown Court in October.
Ashley was described as a "rising star" in her career at Knowsley Council's environmental health team, and had recently been promoted before her death.
The memorial bench is inscribed with the message: "Ash - Forever young, forever missed" and looks over an area of greenery which contains the Cherry Blossom tree, which Julie had marked with flowers.
She told the ECHO: "Ashley used to love coming here with the dogs and her sisters. I would just like to thanks Knowsley Council, it is somewhere we can come and remember Ash, and take some time out".
Councillor Graham Morgan, the Leader of Knowsley Council, said: "Ashley’s tragic and senseless murder devastated her colleagues and friends here at the Council and sent shockwaves throughout our entire organisation. Ashley was a much-loved and respected colleague whose contribution to the Council and to Knowsley as a place was really valued during her life and has been greatly missed since her passing.
"Ashley was a hard worker. She was dedicated and committed to her role and was developing a promising career – she had only recently been promoted just prior to her death.
"Her team misses her contribution, warmth and friendship greatly and her passing continues to be a great loss to this Council. Even in those painful early weeks and months immediately following her death, her colleagues were determined to ensure that Ashley would not be forgotten, and we thought long and hard about ways to remember and commemorate her life.
"As a result, we decided to plant a cherry blossom tree and installed a bench at Court Hey Park in Huyton – creating a focal point and place where colleagues, friends and loved ones could go to remember Ashley.
"Whilst the pain of her passing still feels so raw for those who knew her best, her work community is determined that, despite the tragic events of August 2022, Ashley will never be forgotten."
Ashley's murder came during in a horrific six day period in Merseyside which saw 22-year-old Sam Rimmer shot dead in Dingle five days earlier, and was followed less than 48 later by the fatal shooting of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, in Dovecot.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was convicted of Olivia's murder after a trial in March and jailed for life with a minimum of 42 years. No-one has yet been charged over the murder of Sam on August 16, although several arrests have been made and a number of suspects remain on bail.
There was further gun crime tragedy in October, with the murder of grandmother Jackie Rutter at her home in Moreton, Wirral, and the shooting of Elle Edwards outside a Wallasey pub on Christmas Eve.
Last week Connor Chapman, 23, was jailed for life with a 48 year minimum term for Elle's murder. No-one has yet been charged in connection with the murder of Jackie, although arrests have been made.
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