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what do you know about the murder of Ashley D please does anyone in make yourself known do you know anything
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about it oh hello Mr NY do you know why Ashley was shot and killed in all
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comment betrayal murder and horrible mistakes this body cam footage which was
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recorded by Mercy side British police was taken only several minutes after 28-year-old Ashley Dale was half
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accidentally targeted in her own home and then gunned down I say half accidentally because she was not the
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primary marker here in fact the real Target was nowhere to be found and when
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detectives dug deeper into this case well let's just say that they found themselves unraveling a Darkly
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infuriating story so who was Ashley Dale how did she become an innocent porn in a
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case filled with monsters and what were the events leading up to her brutal murder welcome or welcome back to Coffee
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House crime folks my name is Adrien and today we're traveling to the north of England to city named Liverpool by the
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way if you'd like some bloody good coffee then please do check out my own brand named classified it's deliciously
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dark that's classified cof cod.com and also please do consider subscribing if you haven't yet to see more True Crime
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strange and chilling stories and now without the way let's begin this video so please grab yourself a coffee and
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let's caffeinate while we investigate this is the case of Ashley Dale
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[Music] welcome to Liverpool folks a city that
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pulses with energy and charm and where every street Echoes with history Liverpool is home to many Heritage
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relics which of course includes the Royal Albert dock built in the 19th century it was revolutionary for its
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time showing good old British engineering at its very best today it is a vibrant cultural Hub where the past
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meets the present including the likes of The Beatles Story Mercy side Maritime Museum and at Liverpool now this do is
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not just your typical tourist hotspot it is the heartbeat of the city's creative Spirit Alive with music art and culture
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and if you're lucky you might even spot a cat with an [Music]
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accent although Liverpool does draw millions of tourists in each year beneath the surface of this bustling
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city lies a much darker history one where the shadows of gang culture shaped the streets just as much as the city's
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music and Maritime heritage in the late 1800s Liverpool was a city of very Stark contrasts where opulent
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wealth coexisted with profound poverty as is usually the case in most large cities this disparity gave rise to
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Notorious gangs with one of the most popular ones being known as the high rip Gang has anyone here watched pey
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blinders operating in these dark areas these gangs instilled fear among many of the working class with their activities
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often finding their way onto the front page of local newspapers but as the 20th
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century unfolded Liverpool's gang landscape underwent significant changes
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in recent years the city is now home to numerous organized crime groups which are not only well established in local
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communities but with the added advantage of Global Connections too meaning that they are now able to engage in
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activities such as drug trafficking moneya laundering weapons trading and of course violent crime current estimates
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suggest that as many as 120 gangs operate around Mercy side and
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unfortunately on a warm summer night in the year 2022 an innocent woman found
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herself right in the crosshairs so our story today begins in
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the old Swan neighborhood of Liverpool which you can find a few miles east of the city center at 12:41 in the early
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morning of August the 21st 2022 a harrowing phone call was made to Emergency Services after hearing what
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sounded like an absolute war zone a neighbor called in to report fought a woman who was lying unresponsive in her
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own backyard police rushed to the property and what they found was a chilling scene the home was eily quiet
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but the front door had quite visibly been violently forced open a clear sign that something sinister must have
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occurred the back door which led out into the garden stood a jar in what officers described as left carelessly
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open as if the ass salance or the victim had made their escape in a hurry slowly stepping into the garden officers were
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was struck by the sight of the body of a young woman who unfortunately was now sprawled across the patio lifeless and
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covered in blood she lay in an unnatural position with her body Twisted as if she
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had collapsed in a desperate attempt to run away and call for help to add to the scene a mobile phone lay only a few feet
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away from her as if it had slipped from her hand in her final moments however
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what really shocked the detectives here was the unmistakable evidence of violence after checking underneath her
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body they realized that a pool of blood had soaked into the ground beneath and soon they would realize why because
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after that they identified several spent bullet casings scattered inside the home
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this was a big night for the police force gun crime is relatively rare in
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the United Kingdom so the fact that a young woman had now been gunned down in her very own home was extremely
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shocking while detec IV examined the crime scene more Personnel arrived and the more that did the more the
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neighborhood woke up to the commotion those living nearby would report hearing gunshots coming from the property While
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others would report hearing tires screeching away from the scene and of course there would be other people who reported hearing a car alarm in the
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hours prior whatever happened the sheer brutality of the invasion the finality of her death and all of the chaotic
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details in between would be sure to shock her community now with Neighbors being neighbors it didn't take long for
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them to help officers ident identify that victim and tragically she would soon be known to be 28-year-old Ashley
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Dale but now there were many other questions which still remained for example why was Ashley targeted did she
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have any enemies who were the men that murdered her and why well not only were
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they all very good questions but some of them would not even be answered in the way you'd expect and that's because
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Ashley well she wasn't actually the primary target merely a secondary however before we continue with this
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awful story let's first take a look at Ashley and the life she had prior born to her parents Julie and
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Steven Dunn Ashley was part of a close-knit family of five that lived in the city of Liverpool as the oldest
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child of three she naturally became the protective sibling between them watchful not only over her parents but her
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younger brother and sister too this protective nature would make some already tragic news all the more painful
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when in the year 2015 her younger brother Lewis was tragically shot and murdered at the young age of 16 his
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death which was the result of mistaken identity by a rival gang left a permanent mark on Ashley's life and
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shaped much of her Outlook moving forward but despite the profound trauma of losing her brother to violence Ashley
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continues to push forward in her own personal and professional life she channeled her grief into her education
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before then finally completing a degree in environmental health after that she eventually secured a job as an
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environment mental health officer which is where she really flourished Ashley's colleagues admired her not only for her
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work ethic but also for the compassion and care that she showed in her role which essentially was striving to
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improve the lives of all of the people in her community as an environmental health worker she worked on various
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initiatives to improve living conditions and public health around the city gaining a reputation as hardworking
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intelligent and committed but outside of this career she enjoyed a peaceful life surrounded by friends family and of
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course her dashed Dara her family and friends described her as a bright and a caring Soul one who had a love for Life
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despite the hardships she faced however her personal life would take a more complex turn when she would eventually
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become romantically involved with a man named Lee Harrison and unfortunately he was someone who had many ties to the
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criminal Under World these associations with gangs raised many concerns within Ashley's family who a atically feared
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that his connections could lead to danger and well let's be honest here after losing their son it is absolutely
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understandable why they would feel quite concerned about this however sadly Ashley did not want to see the larger
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picture instead she believes that Lee was an Ever improving man but the reality is that her kind-hearted nature
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and strong moral compass made her quite gullible to his flaws and so with all of
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this talk about him let me introduce you to Lee Harrison a 28-year-old old man who was also from Liverpool and who was
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deeply involved with multiple gangs and Drug trades his early years were marked by a close friendship with Nile Barry
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who was also known to be a local drug dealer it is quite evident that their bond was strong with both men
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collaborating on various stints including the distribution of not only weed but also highgrade cocaine however
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all um good things must come to an end and their relationship began to sour in the year 2018 of course due to drugs
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loyalty and betrayal it was during that year that Nile would unfortunately be robbed with the robbery orchestrated by
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another local gang called the hillsiders through this process he lost £40,000 or
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$50,000 worth of cocaine all of which he secretly hid inside of his home now to
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make matters worse Nile knew that Lee had several connections with the hillsiders which then led him to believe
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that his best friend was likely the Intel behind the invasion of course Lee denied any involvement whatsoever but he
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had made his mind up and to him that was enough his trust had been shattered tensions began to rise and by the end of
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the hour the two were mortal enemies this Fallout would essentially Force Lee to join the hillsiders and from here on
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out this meant war and then in June of 2022 an accidental meeting would
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reignite old feelings it was during this time that Lee and Ashley were busy having fun at glastenbury Festival when
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they accidentally bumped into one of Nile's gang members what followed was a horrible punch up all in the name of
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rivalry although Nile didn't see the fight he was actually at the festival too and after hearing the news he told
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his friends that the next time he saw Lee he would plunge a knife into his
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back you got on believe have drugs on you we in the
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vehicle okay soing you for a search
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James has got £700 in cash on him that's below the threshold oh hello Mr n yeah
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that'll do that will come in the following day and considering his threatening behavior Nile and his friends were apprehended and then
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searched by police officers and as seen in this footage Nile was found in possession of the knife
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Nile time is 252 mate you're going to be arrested Under Suspicion of possession of that okay is it that's not my bag
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it's in your bag with your passport in it okay I've just said that to you before my passp say anything on defense not
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mention question later Court anything you do say may given an Evidence right got
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[Music] yourb all my Stu before is it just one
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bag there's two
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bags did say straight away that his passport going to be in
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this you're under ARR for now
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okay is your bag is it say
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again the big blue holder now luckily for Nile his friend was
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happy to take the fall for him despite the knife being found in the same bag as his very own passport he claimed that it
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actually belonged to his friend James witam James was then detained on suspicion of carrying a weapon and so
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despite the police intervention all underlying tensions persisted
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so I'm going to arrest you then that's suspicion of possession of this okay
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so have to say anything how defense okay anything you do say maybe
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give evidence after this escalation at glastenbury Ashley's life would unfortunately take quite the dramatic
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turn I mean it's quite obvious to say really but experiencing gang Warfare firsthand was sure to fill her with both
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paranoia and fear over the following days and then weeks Ashley became increasingly concerned about the
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physical threats which were made by Nile who not only threatened them at the FES
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but also warned Le that he would eventually be paying both of them a visit at the home address it is quite
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evident that this chilling statement had a profound impact on her because after this moment in time Ashley began to
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sense that the danger was closing in around her she decided to confide in her close friend named Mo in a text message
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to her friend she said I'm worried Mo I can't stop thinking that something's going to happen as Ashley's anxiety grew
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she reached out to several friends for reassurance in another message she shared how unsettling the entire ordeal
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had become I keep feeling like someone's watching me I don't know if I can take much more of this Ashley's constant
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vigilance clearly began to take a toll on her mental health and the messages that she sent to her friends would
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reveal just how much that meant despite her attempts to reassure herself Ashley
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could not shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come in another message she said I feel like a duck just waiting
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for something bad to happen I keep hearing noises outside I can't tell if it's my mind playing tricks or if he's
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actually there and unfortunately her gut instinct would ultimately prove to be
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correct Ashley was a Sitting Duck and the Wolf was right outside her front
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door the evening of August the 20th 2022 began like any other Ashley and dala
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were settling in for an evening together while Lee was out with the boy noise it was during the same evening that Ashley
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shared this photo of her and Dollar on the sofa sadly if only she knew what was
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coming later that evening and once the sun had set a car alarm suddenly rang out from the neighborhood through
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familiarity Ashley would actually notice that it was her vehicle but she thought nothing of it and so brushing it off as
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an inconvenience she continued with her night but in response she did message her friend to say the car alarm has gone
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off again it's the rain I think now the message did seem casual however the tone
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did hint that she was slightly paranoid and this would deem to be true because later on that evening and in another
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message she said I don't know I keep feeling like someone's outside as the
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night unfolded Ashley's fears would continue to intensify her car alarm would once again be triggered this time
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setting off a feeling that this was not just a coincidence and so in response she messaged her friend to say I feel so
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unedged tonight I don't like this at all a mere hour later and in the early hours
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of August the 21st she would then receive a ring at the front door and Ashley well she knew this was bad news
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the doorbell's chime echoed through the deafening Silence of the house and then without warning the door was slammed
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open a gunman immediately stepped inside there was no hesitation here and no
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chance to stop him in an instant he Unleashed a barrage of gunfire and Ashley she had no time to react or
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Escape rather panicked she grabbed her phone and then began to run to the back door but sadly it was already too late
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for she had been hit by one of his bullets as Dara cowered in the corner her attackers then made their way
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through the home before firing the gun into several rooms in an attempt to hit Lee if he was hiding meanwhile in the
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back Garden Ashley's final moments were being spent in Terror there was no escape from the violence or her fatal
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injuries and her life last messages sent only moments before the attack would now forever serve as a chilling reminder of
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how accurately she had sensed her impending danger please if there's anyone in make
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yourself known offers with
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Taser back door's open yeah
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you that door is open
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please go Che the
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was when the police arrived the reality of the situation became painfully clear
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Ashley Dale had been murdered in Cold Blood and many believed that it was likely due to her partner's involvement
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in gang activity of course detectives would soon realize that all of Ashley's tires had been slashed which was likely
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what set the car alarm off in the first place this was a sick scheme to try and get Ashley and Lee out of the property
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when her family learned of her final text messages they were both devastated and Furious and they realized that she
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was spot on with her gut feeling all along and you know what they say folks always listen into your gut feeling now
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thankfully Ashley would essentially solve her own murder here because those messages they had everything officers
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needed to know all they had to do now was piece the evidence together however there would be plenty of smoke and
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mirrors throughout the investigation most notably from her boyfriend who rather conveniently was absent during
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the shooting now I should note here that Lee was extraordinarily uncooperative with all of the police officers and
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would even refuse to provide a statement and when he was forced to to attend interviews well he just decided to
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remain silent instead of course therefore slowing down the initial stages of the investigation and
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surprisingly that would not be the only thing either he would also decline to assist in identifying potential suspects
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distanced himself from the unfolding investigation changed his mobile phone number and even ghosted Ashley's entire
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family leaving all of them to grieve without his support quite understandably his lack of empathy and support would
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only add to the growing concerns about his own involvement or knowledge surrounding her death now it is true we
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all do deal with grief and guilt in different ways but unfortunately it is
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undeniable that Lee was acting like a real jerk here and although I wish I could say that that was all of it
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unfortunately it's not I say I wish that were all of it because unfortunately
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there's more to begin with detectives were quite shocked to realize that just after his girlfriend had been murdered
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Lee then decided to travel to Spain for a holiday because of course the best time to catch some son is right after
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your partner is ruthlessly killed as you may have guessed him leaving the country now meant that officers had to consider
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if maybe he was doing this to avoid prosecution but the authorities had no time to waste here and so with him away
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on holiday they decided to focus on what precisely happened that
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night August the 20th 2022 James witam and Joseph Pierce were seen ing this
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shop through a surveillance camera after making a purchase they were then seen leaving the store before then getting
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into a gray Hyundai i3n by the way this vehicle would later be identified as a
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key piece of evidence and that's because another surveillance camera had recorded it near Ashley's home earlier in the
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evening the surveillance footage in question shows the car in the page Moss area indicating that the driver and
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passenger may have been surveying the location before the attack later that evening and at around 11:0 :30 p.m.
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James and Joe approached Ashley's White Volkswagen which was parked outside of the family home and then proceeded to
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slash the vehicle's tires therefore setting off the car alarm of course this was in an effort to try to lure Lee or
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Ashley outside but despite their efforts no one emerged from the property therefore leading them to retreat and
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then create a plan B unfortunately that plan B was absolutely horrific both men
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returned to the property 1 hour later but this time one of them was armed with a scorpion submachine gun it was clear
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that they were out for blood and after kicking the front door in they found Ashley who was now fleeing towards the
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back door just as she reached the garden door James fired eight rounds out of his machine gun one of which unfortunately
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would strike her in the back after seeing her fall to the ground he then proceeded upstairs and fired five more
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rounds into an empty bedroom possibly as a warning or to intimidate Lee that is
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when he turned around ran down the stairs and both men then fled the scene
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and luckily a neighbor's surveillance camera had recorded the entire thing following the attack James and Joe then
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fled the area and checked into a hotel in St Helens in an effort to lay low but unfortunately for them detectives were
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able to track their movements after being advised to be on the lookout for an Audi Q7 an officer would eventually
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spot their vehicle thankfully ending in both of them finding themselves in
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handcuffs oh open the door all right Lads keep your hands you can see
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him just keep your hands you can see him put some yeah want about that side
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just drive yeah nobody just up the door for
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us wa until we confirm your identity we'll put your ankles what's your name
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fell come us getting dri out and all three arrest and suspicion or murder okay you
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don't have to say anything I'm a defense you don't mention my questions some you lat line in court and
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you you doing going to put your in C mate all
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right what's your name fella say that again Francis Kelly Gary Francis car
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Francis Franc Francis car car Kelly Kelly it's all right my
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ear your we'll walk over here
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fell you got anything on you you shouldn't no anything in the vehicle you shouldn't
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be yeah James right okay you underr for supic of murder all right you don't have to say anything my Army defense you
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don't men my question you do say may given in evidence all
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right whatever time was now yeah we'll come over here we sit behind my
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vehicle he's confirmed that he is James now you may be wondering what happened to Nile Barry who of course was a key
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figure who helped orchestrate the attack well they would actually find him at a local golf resource in forb and their
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intelligence would also indicate that he was also planning to flee the country after tracking him to the gulf Resort
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officers would then execute a well-coordinated operation to prevent him from running away and shortly after
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the fourth accomplice Shan Zeiss was also arrested for his part in her murder once all four men were arrested and
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charged officers now had time to colate all evidence available and several months later in October of 2023 their
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trial would finally begin James witam who of course was the who had fired the
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Fatal shots would initially try to argue that he did not intend to kill Ashley he argued that he had merely intended to
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shoot the place up as some sort of threatening warning but instead he then accidentally found and shot Ashley
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therefore claiming that her death should not be considered to be premeditated however this claim would be very
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difficult to accept in the courtroom in light of all the evidence of course including the previous threats the
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messages the countless surveillance footage and the various WI witness statements as Ashley came to terms with
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the fact that two armed men had broken into her home she then reacted by screaming in Terror and attempting to
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run towards the back door this would have given James who at the time was armed with a scorpion submachine gun
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plenty of time to know precisely what he was doing yet despite the screams he then fired eight rounds towards Ashley
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and with one of these shots striking her in the back it was made clear that he had fired directly towards her as she
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tried to run away no surprise but in November of 2023 the four men were
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sentenced to a total of 173 years in prison for the murder of Ashley Dale
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James witam would receive a life sentence with a minimum of 43 years behind bars Nile Barry was given life
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with a minimum of 47 Joseph Pier would receive life with a minimum of 41 and
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sha Ze was sentenced to life with a minimum of 42 no doubt but the conviction of Ashley's four Killers was
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a Bittersweet moment for her family who felt that although just had technically been served it could never replace the
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loss of their loved one Ashley Dale's tragic death left her
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family with profound grief and loss her mother described her death as a life-altering event stating my life
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might as well have ended there too those three little words turned my lights out forever time has since Stood Still now
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if you watch my videos often then you will know that we always end with a tragedy but think about it and put
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yourself in Ashley's mother's shoes for a moment here having to identify your daughter's body choose a coffin and then
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select an outfit for her to wear at a funeral instead of ever seeing her down the aisle well this anguish must be
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absolutely unfathomable of course this was not the family's first tragedy either making it all the more painful
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coincidentally her younger brother Lewis had also been murdered through that gang Warfare during her funeral her father
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said Ashley is the oldest of my three and Lewis the youngest but both are now
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deceased in a close but thankful twist of fate Ashley's younger sister had
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actually intended to stay on the night of the shooting however due to making promises prior she had to cancel at the
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last minute unknown to her at the time but this decision would inadvertently save her life which is so lucky here it
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would have been beyond tragic if her family had lost all three children in the wake of Ashley's death her family
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has not only been vocal about their grief but also about the impact that gang violence has had on their lives
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despite their immense pain they have shown resilience throughout and now advocate for an end to gang violence it
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is nice to see that their local community have since rallied around them offering support not only with vigils
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but also memorials in Ashley's honor so you may be wondering what
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actually happened to Ashley's boyfriend Lee and unfortunately I don't have a good answer for you he would receive no
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punishment whatsoever and and in fact he still remains free to this day and I suppose what's even more frustrating
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here is that despite his girlfriend literally being murdered through the drug trade he continues to sell cocaine
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and heroin for profit so I guess it's safe to say here that this guy has not learned his lesson he genuinely doesn't
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care and believe it or not but he would also make this toned deaf post on Instagram in which he said 2 years Miss
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as you was a real member hope you're in Paradise happy miss you take an angel
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from me feed a demon to you real classy Lee can somebody please take the guy
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back to school now historically gun-related violence in the UK is exceptionally low with the country
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boasting one of the lowest gun-related homicide rates in the world in fact despite population growth the average
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number of gun related homicides in the UK has remained at 29 each year since 2011 on the other hand gang violence in
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the UK has done nothing but Skyrocket in the recent years and this is likely due to austerity reforms poverty and a lack
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of education and unfortunately it doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon in the gang world guns
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aren't the problem knives are this is external to the video but if you're looking for something dark and interesting to read up then I do
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recommend typing in UK zombie knives because they are an epidemic in London anyway those are my thoughts but as
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always I'd love to know what you think about this one I think the big question here is do you think that Lee should have been held accountable for Ashley's
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murder anyway folks I'm going to keep this outro short and sweet if you'd like to support me in the channel check out
30:00
my patreon here if you'd like to look at my Adventures look at my social media here or alternatively if you want to
30:06
support me in my coffee check out classified coffe cod.com thank you so much and as always I'll be back again
30:12
very soon for another video however until that moment arrives please remember to look after yourselves look
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after each other and as always stay safe thank you and goodbye
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[Music]