Ashley Dale: Three men arrested on suspicion of murder over council worker shooting in Liverpool

Three men arrested on suspicion of murder and one for assisting an offender

Four new suspects have been arrested over the murder of council worker Ashley Dale, which is one of three unsolved fatal shootings to hit Liverpool in a week.

The 28-year-old was shot in the garden of her home in the Old Swan area of the city on 21 August.

She was taken to hospital but died a short time later, and no one has yet been charged in relation to the killing.

Merseyside Police announced on Wednesday that three men had been arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm.

They were a 27-year-old man from Roby, a 35-year-old man from Old Swan and a 40-year-old man from Huyton, all in Merseyside.

A 57-year-old man from Croxteth was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

All four suspects have been taken to police stations for questioning.

Two men and two women previously arrested in relation to the shooting have been released on bail as the investigation continues.

Ms Dale, an environmental health officer for Knowsley Council, is not believed to have been the intended target of the killing.

Her death was one of three fatal shootings within a week in Liverpool, with nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel killed in her home in Dovecot on 22 August and 22-year-old Sam Rimmer shot in Dingle on 16 August.

Opening the inquest into Ms Dale’s death last month, a coroner said police had been called to her home in the early hours of 21 August.

Senior coroner for Liverpool Andre Rebello said: “A concerned member of the public contacted Merseyside Police advising there was a female lying on her back on the floor in the backyard of her address on Leinster Road.

Ms Dale (right) died a day before nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel (left) was shot dead (Merseyside Police)

“Officers attended the address and noted the front door had been forced.”

He said police found Ms Dale unresponsive, her mobile phone on the floor nearby and several bullet casings, consistent with a firearms discharge of multiple rounds.

Neighbours reported hearing loud bangs and the wheels of a vehicle “screeching” away from the area, the inquest heard.

Additional reporting by PA