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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Jonathan Humphries

Suspects named as two men charged with murder of Ashley Dale

Two men were charged with the murder of Ashley Dale five months after she was shot dead in her home.

The 28-year-old Knowsley Council environmental health officer was found unconscious in the back yard of the property on Leinster Road, Old Swan, shortly after midnight on August 21. Detectives said a gunman had burst through her front door and fired multiple shots "indiscriminately", one of which had struck Ashley in the abdomen.

Merseyside Police have previously said detectives do not believe Ashley was the intended target of the shooter, although they believed the "address was targeted".

READ MORE: EncroChat drug runner 'Ladbrookes' given away when contact calls him 'Kurt'

Today the force announced James Witham, 40, of Ashbury Road, Huyton and Joseph Peers, 28, of Woodlands Road, Roby, had been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. They were both remanded in custody to appear at Wirral Magistrates' Court this morning.

A 25-year-old man from St Helens who has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remains in custody.

A spokesman for the force said: "If you haven’t already come forward with information, please pass this directly to our investigation team through our online portal: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk). This will make sure that your information is received and acted on as quickly as possible by detectives.

"You can also contact us via social media @MerPolCC or call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000615873."

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