Two men in court over murder of Ashley Dale in Liverpool

Two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of 28-year-old Ashley Dale, who was shot dead at her home in Liverpool.

Emergency services were called to Ashley's home in Old Swan on 21 August 2022.

The council worker, 28, was found with a gunshot wound in her back garden and pronounced dead at hospital.

Merseyside Police say she is not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting.

Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 27, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 14 February 2023 charged with her murder.

Barry, of Moscow Drive, Tuebrook, and Zeisz, of Longreach Road, Huyton both appeared via videolink.

They confirmed their names and dates of birth during the hearing, which lasted a few minutes.

The pair have been remanded in custody and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday 15 February.

The latest charges bring the number of people charged with Ashley's murder to four.

James Witham, 40, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, and Joseph Peers, 28, of Woodlands Road, Roby, who are also charged with possession of a firearm with intent, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court earlier in February, and were remanded in custody ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing on 30 June.

A trial date was set for 3 October.

Kallum Radford, 25, has been charged with assisting an offender and is due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 1 March.

Ashley Dale's death was one of three gun killings within a week in Liverpool last summer.

Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was killed in her home in Dovecot on 22 August, and 22-year-old Sam Rimmer shot in Dingle on 16 August.