Tragedy of Ashley Dale's brother revealed in court as heartbroken dad says 'history has repeated itself'
22.11.2023 - 14:37
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Ashley Dale's devastated dad said 'history has repeated itself' after he told a court how his son was also shot dead in 2005.
Steve Dunne addressed Liverpool Crown Court today before his daughter's killers were jailed for a total of 173 years. Ashley, a 28-year-old council worker, was gunned down in her own home on Leinster Road in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of August 21 last year.
James Witham, Joseph Peers, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz were all found guilty of her murder. Witham used a Skorpion submachine gun for the shooting which the court heard part of a plot to kill Lee Harrison, Ashley's boyfriend.
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He was jailed for a minimum of 43 years. Barry, 26, who was described by the prosecution as the 'malign presence' behind the killing, was sentenced to a minimum term of 47 years.
Peers, 29, said to be a 'foot soldier' who drove Witham to the scene, was sentenced to at least 41 years and Zeisz, 28, who was accused of organising and encouraging the attack with Barry, was told to serve a minimum of 42 years.
Ahead of the sentencing, a statement read on behalf of Ashley's dad mentioned his heartbreak after losing two children in fatal shootings. In 2015, Ashley's brother, Lewis Dunne, was shot to death aged just 16, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Mr Dunne said: "On Saturday 20th August 2022, I went to bed as normal. I didn’t realise that when I woke up, my life would never be the same again. In the early hours of the morning on Sunday 21st August 2022, I was awoken by an officer from Merseyside Police who, on confirming who I was, told me my daughter, Ashley Dale, was dead.
"I