A car was found with flat tyres outside a house where a woman was shot dead.
Ashley Dale's car was towed away by police after being found with flat tyres on Leinster Road in Old Swan on Sunday, August 21. Detectives investigating the murder confirmed to the ECHO that the car, which was used by Ashley and registered to her family, was seized by officers and will now be probed for any potential evidence.
It's not yet known why the car had flat tyres but police said it will be examined as part of the murder investigation. Ashley was found with gunshot wounds in the back garden of a house on Leinster Road at around 12.40am on Sunday.
READ MORE: Woman, 28, shot dead in garden 'was not intended target'
She was given treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police believe the attack on the address was targeted but Ashley was not the intended target.
Neighbours described the 28-year-old as a "nice" and "lovely" young woman who "kept herself to herself". One neighbour said: "People are shocked and upset because she was lovely.
"She was a nice, young girl just doing her own thing, enjoying life and then this happens. It doesn't bear thinking about.
"I'm a mum and my heart goes out to her family and friends. We've never had trouble in this street, it's always been quiet."
Another mum said she was woken up by her partner on Sunday who heard the sound of gunshots, which also woke their baby up. She said: "It's very sad. It is worrying but you don't know the situation. Everyone is on edge. She was a quiet girl, she kept herself to herself."
A sheet of tarpaulin was used to cover the front door of the house on Leinster Road, while forensics could be seen coming and going from the back garden. Another woman said: "It's quite scary, it's shaken us up. The neighbours all know each other in this street, you never hear of any trouble."
Tributes have flooded into Ashley on social media as people shared their condolences with her family. Posting on the ECHO's Facebook page, Louise McGreevy said: "This is so unbelievably sad. What a gorgeous young lady, absolutely sickening!! RIP you beautiful soul."
Joan Fagan said: "So tragic. A young woman loosing her life, condolences to all friends and family." Clare Louise Barrett said: "Such a sad waste of a young woman’s life."
Detectives are appealing to anyone who was in the Leinster Road area at the time of the shooting to come forward.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: "At this moment in time, our position is that we do not believe that Ashley was the target of this attack. Ashley works for Knowsley Council, she's had a recent promotion, she'd graduated, she had her whole career in front of her and her whole life in front of her.
"She was a young, innocent woman enjoying her life. We do not believe at this time that Ashley was in any way involved in this. We believe the property was being targeted and the reasons for that is part of our investigation as we move forward.
"What I'm appealing for at this stage is anybody who was in that area, Leinster Road, at around half past 12 in the early hours of Sunday morning or Oakhill Road, or the surrounding area, if you can come forward, even if you're not certain if you have any information just speak to a detective around what you were doing there and you may well provide us with some vital information.
"I'm also asking for any dash cam footage, any footage from doorbells or from private CCTV, anything that people hold that helps us identify how the offenders arrived and left and how many there were and what took place at the address."
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