Ashley Dale murder suspect stayed at hotel for 'swim, steam and sauna' with killer

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A man accused of murdering council worker Ashley Dale says he stayed at a hotel with her killer the night after the shooting for a "swim, steam and sauna".

The 28-year-old, who worked at Knowsley Council, died after being shot in the abdomen and collapsing in her back yard on Leinster Road in Old Swan, Liverpool, shortly after midnight on August 21 last year.

Five men are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of her murder. Jurors previously heard that James Witham kicked down the door of her house, where she was spending the evening alone with her dachshund Darla, before entering and shooting her with 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, reports the Liverpool Echo. READ MORE: 'Sweets', 'straps' and sheer panic: The EncroChat messages that saw gang's drugs and gun empire crumble READ MORE: Everything heard in court during third week of Ashley Dale murder trial Another defendant, Joseph Peers, continued to give evidence to the jury for a second day today, Monday (October 23).