Police arrested Ashley Dale murder suspect after finding 'knife' just weeks before she was shot dead

Footage has been released of the moment that two of the men accused of the murder of 28-year-old Ashley Dale were arrested on their way to Glastonbury Festival weeks before her death.

Dale was shot dead in the Old Swan area of Liverpool on 21 August, 2022, while prosecutors have argued that her boyfriend was the intended target of the attack.

Watch below:

Five men have been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and firearms offences, and all have denied the charges against them.

A sixth defendant in the trial, Kallum Radford, also denies assisting an offender.

A trial began at Liverpool Crown Court on 5 October, with prosecutor Paul Greaney KC saying: "There can be no doubt that Ashley’s death was murder.

"She was shot deliberately and, indeed, mercilessly by a man who entered her home intending to kill."

The prosecutor told the court that Dale had attended Glastonbury Festival in June 2022 alongside her boyfriend Lee Harrison, where a dispute he had supposedly reignited.

Merseyside Police

Four of the five men accused of Dale's murder, Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry, Ian Fitzgibbon and James Witham, were also at the festival.

Prosecutor Greaney claims that Witham kicked in Dale's front door and shot her dead.

The jury heard that Witham admitted to being the gunman and has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, though he alleges that he shot her by accident and they had gone to 'send a message' to Harrison.

The court has also heard that Witham and Barry were arrested by Avon and Somerset Police as they travelled to Glastonbury in a taxi several weeks before Dale was killed.

Bodycam footage from the police shows that on 25 June, two men driving in a taxi were arrested after uniformed officers stopped their vehicle.

Merseyside Police

A search of the car led to an officer discovering a flick knife, with officers informing the men they were being arrested on suspicion of possession of the blade.

Prosecutor Greaney said: "It seems that whilst attending Glastonbury, Niall Barry stayed at a pub with rooms not far from where the festival was taking place.

"The pub was called the Pig and Wheel and he stayed there with five others, including James Witham, the man who shot and killed Ashley."

"On the morning of Saturday 25th June, Niall Barry and James Witham were in a taxi, travelling from the Pig and Wheel towards the festival. Uniformed officers stopped the vehicle they were in. In the rear of the taxi, along with Niall Barry and James Witham, was a holdall."

"Officers searched the holdall and, within it, they found a passport in the name of Niall Warner. Warner is the surname of Niall Barry’s father."

The trial continues.