Gunman guilty of killing beautician outside pub on Christmas Eve in gang feud

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A gunman who killed a 26-year-old beautician when he opened fire outside a pub on Christmas Eve has been branded a “coward” by her father as he was found guilty of her murder.

Connor Chapman, 23, used a sub-machine gun to spray bullets at a group from a rival estate and fatally struck Elle Edwards, a “wholly innocent bystander” who had been enjoying an evening with friends.

Chapman was convicted of her murder and seven other counts following a three-and-a-half-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Judge Mr Justice Goose said he would sentence Chapman and co-defendant Thomas Waring on Friday and would consider whether a whole-life order would be suitable.

When Chapman was led from the dock, Ms Edwards’s father, Tim, said: “You coward.”

After the hearing, he said the conviction meant the family could start moving forward. He said: “It just means he’s off the streets, someone else is not going to suffer at the hands of him.

“Unfortunately Elle was his last victim but thankfully she will be the last person he does anything to and he can go fade away.”

Waring, 20, was found guilty of the possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender by helping to burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the shooting.

The trial heard the attack was the culmination of a feud between groups on the Woodchurch and Beechwood estates, on either side of the M53 in Wirral.

Prosecutors alleged Chapman was trying to kill Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, both of whom were seriously injured in the shooting. The pair, from the Beechwood estate, had attacked another man, Sam Searson, in the street the day before, the court heard.

Three other men – Harry Loughran, Liam Carr and Nicholas Speed – who were unconnected to the feud, were also injured in the shooting.

Chapman was caught when DNA evidence was linked to a bullet casing found at the scene.

A post-mortem examination found that Ms Edwards died after being shot twice in the back of her head.

Cameras in the pub caught her last moments, when she greeted and hugged friends, and chatted.

A video of the attack played in court showed Chapman opening fire after rounding the corner of the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village from the car park. It then showed the gunman drive away and later arrive at Waring’s home in Private Drive in Barnston.

The gunman, with long hair, was seen in the footage appearing to drop the gun as he walked towards Waring’s home.

Describing it as a “human tragedy in its purest and most appalling sense”, prosecutor Nigel Power KC described Ms Edwards as a “young, beautiful, unconnected, innocent life” who had been killed as a result of a gang feud.

In the months before the shooting, Chapman had been served with an injunction aimed at preventing gang-related violence, which he treated “with utter contempt”. He admitted handling stolen goods before the trial started.

Chapman was also found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, as well as possession of a Skorpion sub-machine gun with intent to endanger life and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The jury heard Chapman lay in wait outside the pub in a stolen Mercedes for almost three hours before firing the weapon, which the court heard was capable of firing 15 rounds a second.

Chapman told the jury he had not been using the vehicle, which he described as a “pool car” for him and other criminals, on the night of the murder but had given the car key to another man, whom he refused to name.

Waring, who refused to give evidence, later helped to set fire to the stolen Mercedes.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Grounds, described Chapman as a “dangerous and ruthless individual”.

He said: “Connor Chapman knew exactly what he was doing when he left his home address on 24 December, getting in a stolen car in possession of a Skorpion machine pistol.

“He drove to the Lighthouse pub, where he spent a number of hours there before finding a car parking space that gave him a real clear view of who was outside.

“He then left his car with no regard for anybody else, intent on firing that gun at his intended targets, Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, with not a care of what would happen to anybody else who was stood outside of the pub.”

Additional reporting by PA