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Two men charged with murder over death of woman shot in her garden

Ashley Dale, 28, died in hospital after being found with a gunshot at her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, last August.

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Ashley Dale (Family/PA)

Two men have been charged with the murder of a council worker who was shot in her back garden last summer.

Ashley Dale, 28, was found with a gunshot wound at her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, shortly before 1am on August 21.

She was taken to hospital but later died.

Merseyside Police said on Tuesday that James Witham, 40, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, and Joseph Peers, 28, of Woodlands Road, Roby, have been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent.

They appeared at Wirral adult remand court on Tuesday and are due to face Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

A 25-year-old man from St Helens who has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remains in custody.

Ms Dale, an environmental health officer for Knowsley Council, is not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting.

Her death was one of three gun killings within a week in Liverpool last year, with nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel killed in her home in Dovecot on August 22 and 22-year-old Sam Rimmer shot in Dingle on August 16.

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