The partner of a woman who was shot in an alleged feud has been “totally uncooperative” with police, a court has heard.
Environmental health worker Ashley Dale, 28, was shot with a Skorpion machine pistol at home in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of August 21 last year by gunman James Witham, who admits manslaughter.
Witham, 41, and four other defendants, Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, and Joseph Peers, 29, deny her murder, which is alleged to have happened following a feud with her partner Lee Harrison.
Police staff investigator David Rawsthorne told Liverpool Crown Court he and officers had been to see Mr Harrison on a number of occasions since Miss Dale’s death, but he did “not want to engage”.
He described him as “totally uncooperative”.
He said Mr Harrison, who had been in a relationship with Miss Dale for five years, told police he was out with friends on the night of her shooting and had drunk alcohol and taken cocaine.
Mr Rawsthorne said Mr Harrison had seen the police cordon, at the end of Leinster Road, on his way back from a nightclub to a flat in the early hours of the morning.
The court heard he said he had “no idea” why he or Ashley would be targeted and “vehemently denied” he was under threat.
Mr Rawsthorne said Mr Harrison did not give his phone to police and said he had lost it in the city centre on the night of his partner’s death, although police found evidence he was still using the phone after that.
The jury was told Mr Harrison said he could not believe Barry, who he referred to as Branch, would be capable of killing Miss Dale and said they had fallen out but it was three years before.
He described Witham as an “old mate”, the court heard.
The court heard in September that Mr Harrison was told Zeisz, Barry, Witham and Peers had been charged with conspiracy to murder him.
He told police he did not believe they were capable or responsible as he was “fine with them”, except one of them – who he refused to name, Mr Rawsthorne confirmed.
Mr Rawsthorne said since the killing Mr Harrison had been in Dubai on several occasions.
On Thursday, the court also heard Barry had a conviction for supplying a sub-machine gun.
Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said Barry, using the handle Bettertrunk, had sent a message to someone on messaging service Encrochat in 2020 which appeared to refer to firearms and a “skorp”, slang for a Skorpion machine gun.
He also received a message which appeared to list weapons including a “skorp”, AK47 and Uzi sub-machine gun.
He responded asking the sender to “get us prices”, the court heard.
Other messages showed an Encrochat user asking Barry if he could “sort” a “strap”, which the court heard was slang for a firearm, for someone who wanted to buy a “sprayer”.
Mr Greaney told the jury: “On June 8 this year, based upon the messages, Niall Barry was convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer a prohibited weapon, namely a sub-machine gun.”
The court heard no firearms had been recovered from Barry or addresses associated with him.
Witham, of Huyton; Fitzgibbon, of St Helens; Zeisz, of Huyton; Barry, of Tuebrook; and Peers, of Roby – all Merseyside – deny conspiracy to murder Mr Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition, as well as the murder of Miss Dale.
Kallum Radford, 26, of no fixed address, denies assisting an offender.
