Elle Edwards and her sister were enjoying what they hoped would go on to become an annual Christmas Eve tradition when she was shot dead.
The beautician was killed aged 26 outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey, Wirral, on Christmas Eve last year. Connor Chapman was convicted of her murder in July, while Thomas Waring was found guilty of assisting an offender and possession of a prohibited weapon in relation to the Skorpion submachine gun used in the shooting.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Elle's death was the "culmination" of a vicious feud between two rival gangs based in the Woodchurch and Beechwood estates in Wirral. Detectives established that Chapman, from Woodchurch, was attempting to shoot two rival gang members, Beechwood-affiliated Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, when he fired 12 shots at the pub.
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Jurors were told during the trial of Chapman and Waring that Elle and her sister Lucy had arranged to go to the Lighthouse on December 24 2022 after the latter had returned to the UK a week previously, having been out working as an events hostess in Dubai. It was the second year in a row that they had visited the pub for a festive drink.
A statement which was read to the court on Lucy Edwards' behalf by junior prosecution counsel Katy Appleton said: "We had gone the year before and enjoyed ourselves. We wanted to make it a Christmas tradition, although we had ruined Christmas the previous year as we were both hungover.
"Elle was not that enthusiastic. She had been hungover since the Wednesday before when we went to the Christmas markets with our dad."
Lucy described how she attended at around 4pm, and that they "knew a lot of people in there and a lot of faces". The pub was said to have been busy with a "real mix of people, a lot of out of town people”, whereas the previous year had mainly consisted of people who lived in the area.
Elle then arrived at roughly 6pm, bringing with her snacks they had bought at the Christmas markets and crisps. She met Lucy outside, and the two walked in together.
Their cousin and aunt and uncle were also present enjoying the festivities. Elle's sister said that, at one stage, they went to buy bottles of wine from a shop down the road and returned with them as there was a long queue at the bar and the drinks were expensive.
Later in the evening, a woman began arguing with her ex-boyfriend and "boys in the pub kept swilling her with drinks" – with a man known to her as "Scouse Kieran" said to have been telling them to do so. They believed the pub was shutting due to the trouble and left for the Nelson, where they remained for 45 minutes.
Lucy described herself as "falling asleep" before they heard the Lighthouse had remained open. Elle dropped her home before heading back to the pub.
The statement added: "When I got out of the car, I told Elle not to be late so as not to ruin Christmas. She said she wouldn't, and she’d be about an hour."
Lucy later texted Elle saying: "Hey? Get home."
But these messages were never read. In the morning, Lucy was woken by their brother George "saying Elle had been shot".
She was then picked up and taken to hospital, where she was told that her sister had died. Chapman was later jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years for her murder, while Waring was locked up for nine years.
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Four more people have been charged in connection with Elle Edward's murder. A 42 year-old man from the Wallasey area, a 33-year-old woman from the Woodchurch area and a 54-year-old man also from the Woodchurch area have been charged with assisting an offender. A 33-year-old woman from the Birkenhead area has also been charged with two counts of assisting an offender. They have all been bailed to appear at Wirral magistrates court on January, 15, 2024.
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