Never before seen CCTV shows Elle Edwards in Wallasey pub on night of fatal shooting
Final moments of Elle Edwards life captured on camera as she arrives at pub before fatal shooting
Newly released CCTV footage shows beautician Elle Edwards smiling and hugging friends just hours before she was fatally shot at a pub in Merseyside.
The clip shows Elle making her way through the crowd, before stopping to chat to several people.
The 26-year-old died after Connor Chapman, 23, opened fire outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve last year.
In another never before seen video, handed out by Merseyside Police, Chapman can be seen entering the pub car park.
He then pulls out a gun and fires it round a corner.
Seconds later, he is captured getting into a black Mercedes and making a quick getaway.
Chapman fires round corner before fleeing
Chapman has been convicted of murdering the beautician following a three-and-a-half-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
He was also found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of wounding with intent, assault, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.
Co-defendant Thomas Waring, 20, was found guilty of the possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender by helping to burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the shooting.
They will be sentenced on Friday 7 July.
Chapman is arrested in a supermarket in Wales
The jury heard how Chapman lay in wait outside the pub in a stolen Mercedes for almost three hours before firing the weapon, which the court heard was capable of firing 15 rounds a second.
Chapman told the jury he had not been using the vehicle, which he described as a "pool car" for him and other criminals, on the night of the murder but had given the car key to another man, whom he refused to name.
CCTV footage showed the gunman drive away from the Lighthouse in the moments after the shooting and then arrive at Private Drive in Barnston, the home address of co-defendant Waring.
The man, with long hair, was seen in the footage appearing to drop the gun as he walked towards Waring’s home.
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 24 December, 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.
Speaking outside court, Elle's dad, Tim Edwards, said: "We got the result we wanted, justice for Elle. That’s what it’s always been about.
"Those two cowards in there decided to drag it out for four weeks, put all these people through that and everyone else around it, involved in the case.
"I can’t thank the police enough for what they did, and we got there in the end, the right result.
"I hope them two never see another Christmas again ever in their lives."
Asked whether Connor Chapman had been hiding from him in the dock, Mr Edwards said: "I’ve had my eyes on him for four weeks and he has not looked at me once because he’s a coward; that’s exactly what he is.
"I couldn’t care less about him. I’ll never, ever mention his name. I hope he rots in hell."
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