TWO men charged with murdering a council worker who was shot dead outside her home are facing trial.
Ashley Dale, 28, was blasted in the back garden of her home in Liverpool on August 21.
3Ashley Dale was shot dead outside her homeCredit: FacebookJames Witham, 40, and Joseph Peers, 28, have now been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent.
The pair appeared via videolink in back-to-back hearings at Wirral Magistrates’ Court today.
Ashley’s family appeared in the public gallery for the brief hearings.
Both men spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
No pleas were entered but a trial date was set for October 3.
Witham and Peers were remanded in custody ahead of a hearing on June 30.
Ashley was killed in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
The tragedy came just seven years after her brother Lewis Dunne was killed by drug dealers aged just 16.
He was also not the intended target of the shooting in a cruel echo of Ashley’s killing.
The horror also unfolded just 48 hours before nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead at her home in the city.
Following Ashley’s death, her heartbroken family said: “None of this makes sense and our lives will never be the same again.
“A senseless crime that has torn a family apart.”
3Two men charged with Ashley’s murder appeared in court todayCredit: PA
3Ashley was not believed to be the intended target of the shootingCredit: PA
Story Credit: thesun.co.uk