Ashley Dale ‘killer’ tells court he went for ‘steam and sauna’ with gunman hours after council worker was shot dead
ONE of Ashley Dale's alleged killers told a court he went to a hotel with her gunman for a "steam and sauna" hours after she was shot dead.
Ashley Dale, 28, was blasted in the stomach with a Skorpion sub-machine gun by James Witham in an alleged revenge attack.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today how Witham, 41, who admits manslaughter, stayed at the Mercure Hotel in St Helens for two nights after the shooting.
The gunman enjoyed the break with Joseph Peers, 29, who allegedly drove him to Ashley's home.
Peers told jurors he uses the hotel for the "swim, steam and sauna" but found the facilities were shut when they got there.
He added: "I was only going for a swim and sauna and it's turned out to staying there.
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"[Witham] paid me to book him a room in my name, with my own number, my own credit card. I can't say why."
Peers, who is one of five men accused of Ashley's murder, stayed at the hotel for two nights before checking out on August 23 last year.
The court heard they only left for a few hours on August 22 to get a KFC.
Peers also claimed Witham asked him about storing a Hyundai, which was used in the shooting, so he spoke to a pal who agreed to look after it.
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He told jurors he thought the gunman wanted the car stored as it had been involved in a crash.
The alleged killer said when both of them were arrested on September 13, Witham told him nothing about what he'd done.
Peers added: "That's the most baffling part of it.
"He hadn't said nothing, in fact he's let me book hotels in my own name, let me store the car for him."
Peers, Witham, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, Niall Barry, 26 and Sean Zeisz, 28,are all accused of Ashley's murder.
The gang allegedly wanted to kill Ashley's boyfriend Lee Harrison after Zeisz was attacked at Glastonbury that summer.
The "deeply humiliating" attack on Zeisz had "reignited" a feud between his gang and Harrison that left Ashley fearing the worst.
Just weeks before her death, she told a pal: "I am looking over my shoulder all the time.”
Witham and Peers showed up at Ashley's home where she was alone armed with the powerful gun to "kill [Harrison] and deal with anyone that got in their way", jurors were told.
Her alleged killers made an attempt to lure her outside by slashing the tyres of her Volkswagen T-ROC to trigger an alarm, it was said.
But Ashley sent a text at this time saying she believed the rain had set it off so she stayed inside where she was safe, or "so she no doubt thought".
Around 50 minutes later, Witham kicked the front door in causing Ashley to flee towards the back door of the house, jurors heard.
She screamed "get the f**k out" at the gunman as she attempted to "run for her life" before he opened fire.
A bullet then passed through her abdomen causing "catastrophic" damage.
Witham fired five bullets into the wall in Ashley's bedroom, which was a "firm message" to her boyfriend Lee Harrison, jurors heard.
Tragically, the court heard Ashley was found lying on the ground in her back garden "groaning in pain".
All five defendants deny murdering Ashley and also deny conspiracy to murder Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition.
A sixth defendant, Kallum Radford, 25, of no fixed address, denies assisting an offender.
The trial continues.
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