Two men charged with the murder of Ashley Dale will make a further court appearance this week.
The 28-year-old Knowsley Council worker was found fatally wounded in the back yard of her home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, shortly after midnight on August 21. Detectives said a gunman had burst through her front door and fired multiple shots "indiscriminately", one of which had struck Ashley in the abdomen.
Merseyside Police have previously said detectives do not believe Ashley was the intended target of the shooter, although they believed the "address was targeted".
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Today the force announced James Witham, 40, of Ashbury Road, Huyton and Joseph Peers, 28, of Woodlands Road, Roby, had been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. They made a brief appearance at Wirral Magistrates' Court this morning.
Magistrates' courts do not have the power to deal with bail applications or other case management in murder cases, and the defendants were both remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, February 2.
A 25-year-old man from St Helens who had been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender on Monday night remains in custody.
A spokesman for the force said: "If you haven’t already come forward with information, please pass this directly to our investigation team through our online portal: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk). This will make sure that your information is received and acted on as quickly as possible by detectives.
"You can also contact us via social media @MerPolCC or call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000615873."
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