Man appears in court charged with Christmas Eve pub murder

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Elle Edwards, who died following a shooting at a pub on Christmas Eve.

Connor Chapman, 22, appeared at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning and was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

As well as murder, he was charged with two counts of attempted murder, of Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld, and three counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, of Harry Loughran, Nicholas Speed and Liam Carr.

He was also charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, relating to a converted Scorpion sub-machine gun, and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

All counts were alleged to have happened on December 24 last year at the Lighthouse in Wallasey Village, Wirral.

Chapman, wearing a grey tracksuit and with long hair, was also charged with handling stolen goods, a Mercedes A Class car, between December 22 and 26 last year.

He spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and said he was of no fixed address.

The hearing, attended by a dozen members of the press, lasted about three minutes.

Ms Edwards, a 26-year-old beautician, was fatally shot at the Lighthouse pub shortly before midnight on December 24.

She is not believed to have been the intended target of the attack. A 23-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender was released on bail pending further inquiries, Merseyside Police said on Friday.

Three other people were previously arrested in connection with the murder.

A 31-year-old man from Tranmere, Wirral, and a 19-year-old woman from Rock Ferry, Wirral, were held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and bailed pending further inquiries.

A 30-year-old man from Tranmere, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, was recalled to prison on licence.