Elle Edwards: murder victim's dad says she 'will be with them at Christmas'

Report by Granada Reports journalist Claire Hannah

It was a murder that shocked the nation.

Elle Edwards, 26, out celebrating Christmas Eve at the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey, when just before midnight, a man opened fire at a group of people standing outside the pub with a Skorpion sub machine gun.

He fired 12 bullets in four seconds, two of those bullets hit Elle in the head, killing her instantly.

Elle was an innocent bystander, caught in a row between two gangs.

Now 12 months on, the family is preparing for their first Christmas since that night.

Elle's dad Tim said: "It is not going to be fun, but I've got other kids, and grandkids, so I think it would be selfish to not want to do something for them.

"So, I'm finding that balance at the moment, and remembering Elle.

"It's drawing closer, it's like the day you're dreading comes, but every day is like Christmas day for us, because we have to live through it every day.

"But we'll get through it, we'll just do what we do every day, and we'll stick together as a family.

"All of us are getting together, her nan, her mum, brothers and sister, grandson, cousins, we'll all be together and we'll celebrate Elle.

"That's the significance for us. It's more about celebrating Elle than Christmas."

Tim said Elle will have a place at the table and smiled as he told us what she would have been like.

He joked: "Elle would have woken up, hungover, had a growl, and then get herself ready, and then been first at the table waiting for her dinner.

"She won't be sitting at the table this year, but she'll be there. She's always there."

Elle had been visiting her sister Lucy in Dubai in December 2022, but they came home a week early to surprise their dad.

On December 23, the three of them spent the day at Manchester's Christmas markets, then Elle went back to her dad's flat in New Brighton, where they spent the rest of the night chatting and listening to Fleetwood Mac.

This would be the last night Tim would spend with Elle.

Elle's murder almost destroyed Tim, but along with the support of his family, walking is a big part of how he has made it through the past 12 months.

Along with grieving the loss of his daughter, sitting through her murder trial and setting up a foundation in Elle's name, he's walked the whole length of the country to raise awareness of the pain violent crime and guns cause.

This saw him strike up an unlikely friendship with Scouse comedian John May, who Tim had been following on social media as he embarked on a walk from Land's End to John O'Groats.

Tim initially joined John for two days and they ended up completing the walk together.

Tim said: "That is the one good thing that has come out of this, the friendship that was born.

"I enjoy walking anyway, but this was a great healer, to do it with your mate, well, he's become my best mate, it's got me through this year, it's helped a lot."

Tim says he now wants to get 2023 out of the way, and head into 2024 making it a positive year.

He has signed up for the Marathon des Sables in Morocco in April to raise awareness of the Elle Edwards Foundation, which aims to provide support to families who lose loved ones to gun and violent crime.

The race is a six day 250 km ultramarathon in the Sahara desert in the "blazing sun".

Tim says Elle will be with him every step of the way.

"She'd be laughing her head off... honestly, she'd be laughing her head off, she would probably do it with me, I mean she will be doing it with me, but if she was here, she would be as daft as her dad to say 'oh yeah, I'll give that a go' and then realise what she'd signed up for."

Also planned for 2024 is a festival at the end of May in Elle's name, and a gala for her birthday as Tim aims to make sure Elle is never forgotten, and her name is used for positive change.