One of the men accused of murdering Ashley Dale threatened to "come down to the estate and punch her boyfriend's head in" less than a month before she was shot dead.
The Knowsley Council worker died aged 28 after being shot in the abdomen and collapsing in her back yard on Leinster Road in Old Swan shortly after midnight on August 21 last year. Five men are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of her murder.
James Witham had admitted kicking down the door of her house, where she was spending the evening alone with her dachshund Darla, and spraying the property with bullets from a Skorpion submachine gun. The 41-year-old is expected to claim he did not see or hear Ashley and was instead attempting to "send a message" to her boyfriend Lee Harrison, who was not present at the time.
READ MORE: Live updates from Ashley Dale murder trial
Another defendant, Niall Barry, began giving evidence to the jury today, Wednesday. His counsel, Stanley Reiz KC, asked him about a series of calls between himself, Witham and Harrison on July 26 last year.
At around 4.45pm, Witham made three calls to Harrison before Barry spoke to Witham "a few minutes later" for five minutes and 25 seconds. He said of this: "That was just general chat, I was ringing to see what he was doing.
"He said he’d just been arguing with Lee. He said he was arguing with him over drugs and money what have been robbed and another bit of money, Lee said it was to do with me."
Mr Reiz asked: "Did you know which drugs he was referring to?"
Barry, who earlier in his evidence stated that he had been told "Lee had robbed money and drugs" belonging to Witham during covid lockdown measures, said: "Drugs what got robbed over the lockdown period. There was something else what got said.
"He said he mentioned my name. Drugs going to someone and someone collecting the money."
Barry added that Harrison had mentioned his name in connection with "drugs that had gone missing", and said: "Lee said to James I had something to do with money getting picked up off someone. It was a load of lies."
"I said let's just get it all out in the open. Give us his number and I’ll ring him now, to clear my name.
"I had nothing to do with anyone owing money to anyone or drugs going missing. Anything like that."
Barry reported that Witham "sounded p***ed off" in the phone call. He said: "Not much really, I was just confused why my name was getting mentioned."
Mr Reiz stated that he had then called Harrison for three minutes and 12 seconds. Barry said he had last spoken to him "coming on for three years ago".
He told the court: "I just wanted to say what are you going on about? Why are you mentioning my name in an argument that had nothing to do with me?
"He said he didn’t mention my name, saying I had anything to do with it. It was a misunderstanding, it wasn’t anything like that.
"I was just telling him, don’t be mentioning my name. Stop going around doing what you're doing."
Mr Reiz asked: "How were you saying that to him?"
Barry replied: "I was just speaking to him normal. I said, don’t be trying to throw dirt on my name having any involvement in the robbery.
"Whether it be drugs, money or anything. I said I'll come down to the estate and I’ll punch your head in."
Mr Reiz said: "That was a threat?"
Barry said: "Yes."
Mr Reiz: "Why were you threatening him?"
Barry: "He was trying to throw my name into drugs or money getting robbed."
Mr Reiz: "Why did that bother you?"
Barry: "I never robbed anyone in my life."
Mr Reiz: "Did Mr Harrison respond to the threat you made?"
Barry: "No. He just said he knows it was nothing to do with me.
"I don’t know whether he knew I was speaking to James. I think he tried to shuffle the blame on to me, not knowing I was speaking to James every day."
Mr Reiz: "You mentioned you’ll come down to the estate?"
Barry: "Hillside. I know that’s where Lee hangs around."
Mr Reiz: "Were you intending to do that?"
Barry: "No, no. I said 'carry on mentioning my name and I’ll come down to the estate and punch your head in'."
Mr Reiz: "Did you mention any threat to shoot him?"
Barry: "No, I never threatened to shoot him. I’ve never ever threatened to shoot Lee Harrison in my life, never ever."
Mr Reiz: "How did that conversation come to an end?"
Barry: "I think I put the phone down on him."
He then spoke to Witham over the phone for three minutes and six seconds, saying of this: "I told him, I just explained, I spoke to Lee and he told me what he said to James was a load of b******s. I told him to ring him back, James said to me, 'I know he’s chatting s*** anyway'."
There was then a further 36 phone call from Barry to Harrison. He said of this: "I just wanted to confirm that I spoke to James again and he knows you’re chatting s***, I can’t remember exactly what it was."
Paul Greaney KC told a jury of five men and seven women during the prosecution's opening last month that Witham and "driver" Joseph Peers, were "dispatched" to assassinate Harrison and "leave no witnesses". They had allegedly received their orders from Barry, Sean Zeisz and Ian Fitzgibbon – who were said to have been "directing operations" from a flat on Pilch Lane in Huyton.
The court heard that, at around 11.40pm on August 20 2022, two men approached Ashley’s white Volkswagen T-Roc car – which was parked outside the house – and slashed its tyres, causing the alarm to sound, in an effort to "lure" the occupants out. But it is thought Ashley believed the alarm had been set off by heavy rain and did not leave her house.
Mr Greaney said: "The men who had damaged the car were not deterred. Fifty minutes later, at about 12.30am, they returned.
"This time, they were not to be diverted from their intention to kill. One of the men approached the front door of 40 Leinster Road and he kicked it in. Ashley plainly became aware of what was happening. She screamed and fled towards the back door of the house, but the man entered the house and he pursued her.
"He was armed with a machine gun and opened fire. Ashley was struck by a bullet – it passed through her abdomen, causing catastrophic damage."
Mr Greaney said that "certain events at Glastonbury Festival" in June 2022 had "played an important part" in the alleged motive behind the attack, adding: "Ashley Dale and Lee Harrison, her boyfriend, attended the festival, as did at least four of the defendants – Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry, Ian Fitzgibbon and James Witham. A group of other young men from Liverpool were also present, one of whom was a person called Jordan Thompson – who was known as Dusty.
"Lee Harrison seems to have had an association with the group of which Dusty was part. Whilst at the festival, Sean Zeisz was assaulted and his attackers included Jordan Thompson.
"This attack appears to have occurred because Sean Zeisz was, as it was later expressed, arguing with everyone for Niall Barry – who was known as Branch. To compound the loss of face for Sean Zeisz, in the aftermath of the assault his girlfriend – a woman called Olivia, known as Liv, McDowell – stayed with the group of which Jordan Thompson, Lee Harrison and Ashley Dale were part.
"It is clear that Sean Zeisz felt deeply humiliated from what had happened at Glastonbury."
The court also heard that Barry then sided with Zeisz, with this "fresh" dispute having compounded a "separate and longstanding antagonism towards Lee Harrison". Mr Greaney said: "Niall Barry used these new events at Glastonbury to reignite that old feud and, as tensions simmered in Liverpool, Niall Barry made a series of threats directed towards Lee Harrison."
Witham, of Ashbury Road in Huyton, Zeisz, of Longreach Road in Huyton, 26-year-old Barry, of Moscow Drive in Tuebrook, 29-year-old Peers, of Woodlands Road in Roby, and 28-year-old Fitzgibbon, of Heigham Gardens in St Helens, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ashley Dale, conspiracy to murder Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, namely a Skorpion submachine gun, and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Witham has admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.
A sixth defendant – 26-year-old Kallum Radford, of Trentham Road in Kirkby – denies assisting an offender. The trial, before Mr Justice Goose, continues.
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