Mum found 'fire in belly' to confront daughter's killers

The mother of a young woman who was shot dead in her home has described finding "this fire in my belly from somewhere" to confront her daughter's killers in court.

Ashley Dale died when a drug dealer barged through the front door of her house in Old Swan, Liverpool, and opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun.

The 28-year-old environmental health officer was struck once as she tried to flee out of her back door in Leinster Road, in the early hours of 21 August 2022.

Her mother, Julie Dale, spoke to BBC Breakfast ahead of a new documentary from a film-crew who spent a year embedded within Merseyside Police.

The Channel 4 series followed detectives as they worked on the high profile murders of both Ashley Dale and nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who were shot in Liverpool less than 48 hours apart.

The trial heard Ms Dale's killer James Witham had gone to the house to try and kill her boyfriend, Lee Harrison, who was on a night out at the time.

The documentary captures her grief-stricken mother agonising over her victim impact statement, which she had the chance to read during Witham's sentencing hearing in Liverpool Crown Court.

She said she initially felt there was "no way" she would have the strength to read it herself.

"I couldn't stand up in front of a crowd of people just in general circumstances and talk, I couldn't," she said.

"So then the time got closer and I started writing it, and then I just got this fire in my belly from somewhere, I don't know where it came from."

The sentencing came at the end of an eight-week trial which saw Witham convicted of murder alongside the men who ordered the shooting - Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz - and getaway driver Joseph Peers.

Julie said: "We sat for eight weeks with them looking at us.

"There was no remorse, there was no upset, they didn't appear sorry, nothing."

During the hearing on 22 November, the then 41-year-old Witham stood up and walked out of the dock as he heard the victim impact statement.

As she read it, Julie looked at him from the witness stand and said: "I hope you see my baby girl's face every night like I do when I go to sleep."

Julie said she was initially shocked when she was told by Det Ch Insp Cath Cummings, who led the investigation, that it would feature in the documentary.

She said: "It was a very, very hard watch.

"But I'm glad it's been done. I'm glad we were able to have a part of it, have a say, and give Ashley a voice, and also to tell our story."

Det Ch Insp Cath Cummings, who appeared on Breakfast alongside Julie, said being followed by a film crew while doing her job was "nerve-wracking".

Witham, Barry, Zeisz and Peers were each jailed for life with minimum terms ranging from 41 to 47 years in prison.

Merseyside Detectives: The Murders of Ashley and Olivia airs on 19 August, at 21:00 BST on Channel 4 and All 4.

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