Around 12.40 a.m. on Sunday, Ashley Dale, 28, was discovered lying wounded in the backyard of a home in Old Swan, Liverpool. She was given medical attention on the scene, but after being transported to the hospital, she was later declared dead.
She was found dead from a single gunshot wound, according to a Home Office post-mortem investigation. Police are of the opinion that Ms. Dale, a graduate who worked for Knowsley Council’s environmental health team, was not the intended victim.
Leinster Road, where Ms. Dale was discovered, was entered by a car at around 12.30 am, or about 10 minutes before the incident was reported, according to CCTV footage that has been made public. According to Merseyside Police, anyone who was in the driver’s seat, as well as any passengers and nearby pedestrians, may have important information.
Our officers are working around the clock to investigate this appalling incident that tragically resulted in the death of a young woman,” said Detective Chief Inspector Cath Cummings. According to the information we have so far, the incident was reported to the police not long after a car had been driven into Leinster Road.
“Please get in touch if you saw anything in the early hours of Sunday morning, whether you were the driver, a passenger, or the CCTV jogs your memory. Your knowledge may be essential to our ongoing investigation. We have also discovered that there were several people on foot in the area at the time of the incident after reviewing CCTV footage from the area.
The shooting incident happened shortly after Anthony Joshua’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk for the heavyweight title. Ms. Cummings continued, “A boxing match had just ended, so the area was reasonably busy with people walking home or into town after the match. Between 12.20 and 12.40 on Sunday morning, if you were walking in the vicinity of Leinster Road or on Prescot Road, including the intersection by the Navigator pub, kindly let us know.
“You might have seen or heard something that would be extremely helpful in identifying the culprits. In a similar vein, I would request that any taxi or delivery drivers who were on the road between 12.20 and 12.40 a.m. and have dashcam footage get in touch with us.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Merseyside Police via the public portal at mipp.police.uk, on social media at @MerPolCC, by phone at 101, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111 and referencing case 22000615873.
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