A 28-year-old council employee was discovered shot to death in her backyard. Four individuals have been arrested in connection with her death.
Ashley Dale, 28 years old, was discovered with gunshot wounds in Old Swan, Liverpool, on Sunday, August 21. She was rushed to the hospital, but died shortly after.
It is suspected that Ms. Dale, an environmental health officer with Knowsley Council, was not the primary target of the murder.
Merseyside Police provided an update on the investigation on Wednesday, stating that four individuals had been arrested in Merseyside and Cumbria.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said that a 27-year-old man from Roby, a 40-year-old man from Huyton, and a 35-year-old man from Old Swan were arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm.
A Croxteth man, aged 57, was arrested on suspicion of helping a criminal.
The males were brought to police stations for interrogation.
Police have previously detained two men, ages 25 and 27, on suspicion of murdering Ms. Dale, as well as two women, ages 21 and 48, on suspicion of aiding a criminal.
The four individuals already arrested remain on bail, according to the police.
Today, police urged anyone with knowledge to contact them.
Ms. Dale’s family released the following statement following her death: ‘Ashley, our girl – our shining light. Our hearts are broken into a million pieces. Ashley was a hard-working young woman who had her entire life ahead of her.
‘She had just been promoted at her job with Knowsley Council. She had a degree and so many plans for her bright future that had only just begun. Her laugh, smile and energy was infectious in any room.
‘We can’t come to terms with how this would happen to a defenceless woman in her own home. None of this makes sense and our lives will never be the same again. A senseless crime that has torn a family apart. Justice needs to be brought.’
Her killing was one of three fatal shootings in Liverpool within a week, the others being the deaths of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her Dovecot home on August 22 and 22-year-old Sam Rimmer in Dingle on August 16.