Ashley Dale, 28, shot dead in her home by killers hunting her boyfriend (Image: Liverpool Echo)
The « despicable » boyfriend of murder victim Ashley Dale has been jailed for five years for dealing drugs – almost three years after gangsters targeting him fatally shot her.
Environmental health officer Ashley Dale, 28, died in the early hours of 21 August 2022 when a drug dealer barged through the front door of her house in Old Swan, Liverpool, and opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun.
A trial heard Ashley’s killer James Witham had gone to the house to try and kill her drug-dealer boyfriend, Lee Harrison, who was on a night out at the time.
In 2023 Witham, 41, Joseph Peers, 29, Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 28, were jailed for a total of 173 years for the bungled hit on Harrison – who had an ongoing feud with Barry.
After Ashley’s murder her shattered family blamed Harrison, saying she had fallen « in love with the wrong boy » and slammed his behaviour by refusing to help police track down her killers.
Now at Liverpool Crown Court Harrison, 27, of Huyton, Merseyside, has been jailed himself for five years in an unrelated matter after admitting conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and possession with intent to supply cocaine.
Co-accused Terence Rice, 36, of Kirkby, admitted being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin and possession of an offensive weapon in a private place and was jailed for five years and two months.
After the pair were jailed, Ashley’s mum said Harrison being caged « is no justice for me » and slammed his « dismissive » family.
Julie Dale said: « We are going into our third year since Ashley’s senseless murder. Yet I’ve still had no contact or attempts from Lee Harrison to give me any answers, no sorry, or any remorse shown.
« He continued to live the life he knew, the one that sadly led Ashley – his girlfriend of five long years – to be killed. I’ve still had no contact from his mum or sisters, who all claim to have loved Ashley like a sister and a daughter.
« I still cannot comprehend how he and his family can be so callous and dismissive of us. Today’s sentence is no justice for me.
« Like I’ve said before justice would be that this had never happened and my Ash was still here. But it does bring me some comfort that Lee Harrison will be spending five years behind bars.
« There’s no celebration or karma here, just one broken, grieving mum and family who wish Ashley had never met Lee Harrison. He clearly thought nothing of Ash, as he continued with his ways even after his girlfriend was cruelly taken from him. »
The pair were arrested after officers sighted a BMW X3 heading through the Wallasey tunnel towards Liverpool on the evening of Monday 25 November last year, and stopped it on Jennifer Avenue.
During a subsequent search at the home address of Harrison cocaine with a value of between £4760 and £11,900 was recovered.
Jailing Harrison, Judge Simon Medland said: « This is serious offending, not least because class A drugs, particularly, destroy people’s lives and you were making a commercial business out of destroying people’s lives.
« These drugs break up families, corrode society, they very adversely affect people’s mental health and wellbeing, and you were making a trade out of that misery. »
Harrison, appearing by videolink from HMP Liverpool, showed no reaction to the sentence.
Prosecutor Holly Menary said: « Lee Harrison was observed to be very agitated and nervous when stopped. »
She said Harrison, in the passenger seat, was holding an iPhone but refused to provide police with the PIN.
Ms Menary said a Nokia mobile phone found in the car was used for a drugs line which had sold class A drugs on at least 247 occasions, with a street value of up to £22,230, during October and November.
Officers searched Harrison’s address on Liverpool Road, Huyton, which he shared with his mother Sharon, and found cocaine with a value of up to £11,900 as well as adulterant for cocaine, scales and small plastic bags.
He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and possessing cocaine with intent to supply at a hearing in December.
Stephen McNally, defending Harrison, said: « This offending came on the back of a difficult period in his life for reasons which he does not wish me to ventilate in open court, which I stress he does not claim excuse any of his offending.
« He suffered a significant bereavement in his life. Following that he lost his employment, lost his home, returned to living with his mother and had to claim benefits to make ends meet. »
He said Harrison had sought a “quick fix” for his financial situation. He added: « He was a foot soldier who was required to get his hands dirty. »
The charges came as part of our ongoing Operation Toxic which is part of Project Medusa – a Merseyside-led initiative set up to tackle suspected County Lines drug dealing and child criminal exploitation across the country.
Detective Sergeant Shaun McNee said: « County Lines gangs have no regard for the young, vulnerable people they coerce in to running drugs across the country, often with threats of violence and intimidation.
« Merseyside Police leads nationally on the response to County Lines through Project Medusa and we will relentlessly target those crime groups who cowardly exploit vulnerable people in our communities.
« We know the devastation that drugs cause and Merseyside Police remains relentless in our pursuit of these criminals and ending their drugs trade. »
The Ashley Dale murder trial heard how Harrison had been the intended target of the shooting due to a feud with Barry, which had reignited at Glastonbury festival.
She was killed when Witham, who admitted manslaughter but was convicted of murder, forced open the door of her home in the Old Swan area of the city.
He fired 10 bullets in her dining room, one hitting Ms Dale in the abdomen as she stood by the back door, and five bullets into the wall of an upstairs bedroom.
Peers was described in court as a « foot soldier » after he drove a Hyundai to the scene and earlier helped Witham to stab tyres on Ms Dale’s car in an attempt to lure the couple out of the house.
Barry and Zeisz were found to have helped organise and encourage the killing, which came after a feud with Harrison.
Scene of shooting in Old Swan (Image: Liverpool Echo)
The trial heard Ashley’s own voice describing the falling out between her partner and Barry, as voice notes which she recorded and sent to friends in the two months before her murder were played to the jury.
Her phone was found an arm’s length from her and the court heard she had tried to call Harrison, who was out with friends, in her final moments.
The jury was told Barry’s feud with Harrison started about three years before the shooting when Harrison sided with the Hillside organised crime group after they allegedly stole drugs from Barry.
The feud was reignited when both attended Glastonbury festival in June 2022, the prosecution said.
Ashley’s family said she had fallen « in love with the wrong boy » as they expressed their anger towards the « despicable » boyfriend her murderers were targeting.
After the four men were convicted mum Julie Dale said she was « very, very angry » with Harrison, who had been in a relationship with her daughter for about five years before her death.
« Some days I feel like I’m more angry towards him than I am to the person who’s actually killed Ashley because without Lee Harrison this wouldn’t have happened, » she said.
She added: « The way he’s acted since this has happened has been absolutely despicable.
« We’ve had no remorse from him. We’ve had no support from him. We have no admittance that it’s anything to do with him. »
During the trial, the court heard that since his girlfriend’s death Harrison had been « totally unco-operative » with police, and had been to Dubai on several occasions.
Ms Dale’s stepfather Rob Jones said: « The problem we keep coming back to is Ashley fell in love with the wrong boy.
« I’m not saying for one minute Ashley did not love him, I’m saying he doesn’t love her, clearly, by actions. »
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