Judge remands two men over murder of Ashley Dale in Liverpool

1402 Ashley Dale
Ms Dale was found with a gunshot wound in the back garden of her home in the city's Old Swan neighbourhood. Credit: Family photo

A judge has remanded two men into custody to await trial for the murder of a woman found shot at home in Liverpool.

Ashley Dale, 28, was discovered in the back garden of her house in Old Swan, with a gunshot wound, last August.

Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 27, appeared via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court. Both wore dark sweatshirts.

Police were called to Ms Dale's home on 21 August last year. Credit: ITV News

Barry, of Moscow Drive, Tuebrook, and Zeisz, of Longreach Road, Huyton, spoke only to confirm their names and dates of birth.

The hearing lasted just minutes and ended with both being remanded ahead of a plea hearing on 30 June and a trial due to start on 3 October.

The trial is expected to last up to eight weeks.

Ms Dale, who was an environmental health officer, is not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting. Credit: Family photo

In total, four people have now been charged with Ms Dale's murder.

The other two are James Witham, 40, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, and Joseph Peers, 28, of Woodlands Road, Roby. Both were remanded into custody earlier this month. The pair are also charged with possession of a firearm with intent.

Another man, Kallum Radford - 25, of no fixed abode - is accused of assisting an offender and is due before the city's Crown Court on 1 March.

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

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