A woman was arrested in connection with the murder of Ashley Dale after three others were released on bail.
The 48-year-old is the fourth person detained over the brutal shooting that saw 28-year-old Ashley gunned down in her Old Swan home. Ashley, an environmental health officer at Knowsley Council, died after a gunman forced his way into her home and fired multiple shots "indiscriminately" in the early hours of Sunday, August 21.
Ashley was found lying in the back yard of her house on Leinster Road with a gunshot wound to the abdomen after neighbours raised the alarm. So far two men, aged 25 and 27 and from the Liverpool and Dovecot areas, have been arrested on suspicion of Miss Dale's murder and later released on bail. A 21-year-old Liverpool woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and bailed.
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Today Merseyside Police announced a 48-year-old woman from St Helens was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and has been taken to a police station for questioning.
Detective Chief Inspector Cath Cummings has said: "Although progress is being made, I’d still like to urge anyone with information who has yet to come forward to do so as soon as possible. Please do not assume that what you know has been passed on by someone else, or that it is not significant enough to bring to our attention.
"I have a team of dedicated detectives who will make that assessment. Help us find justice for Ashley’s family, and for a community devastated by her loss.
"From extensive ongoing CCTV enquiries, we do know there were people walking close to the scene at the time of the offence. If this was you or someone you know, please come forward as you may, without realising, hold vital information to assist this investigation.
"Similarly, I would continue to ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area between 12.20am and 12.40am and have dashcam footage to please contact us."
Please submit any information you have directly with the investigation team through the force's online portal: Public Portal (Public Portal (mipp.police.uk). This will make sure that your information is received and acted on as quickly as possible by detectives.
Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-
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