A 23-year-old man has been found guilty of the murder of beautician Elle Edwards, who was shot dead outside a pub in Merseyside on Christmas Eve.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court convicted Connor Chapman, who fired twelve bullets from a Skorpion sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey, just 10 minutes before Christmas Day last year.
Along with killing Ms Edwards, he injured five men, two of which were his intended targets.
Ms Edwards, 26, was last seen on CCTV leaving the pub for a cigarette just four minutes before Chapman unleashed his attack.
Chapman was found guilty of the murder of Ms Edwards.
He was also found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of a firearm.
The family of Ms Edwards were present for every day of Chapman’s trial, which lasted more than three weeks.
For them, this conviction is a “huge relief”.
Speaking to Sky News, her father Tim Edwards said: “He’s taken the core of our family and he’s ripped it out.
“We’ll never have Elle back, that’s just something that’s never going to happen.
“But she’ll always be here, so we still have that and we’re never going to allow him to take that away from us. No one can.”
Mr Edwards added that the conviction was a huge step forward for the family.
“It’s a new chapter,” he said. “It’s the beginning of the future without Elle.”
Speaking about the conviction of Chapman, he added: “It means he’s off the streets, someone else is not going to suffer at the hands of him.”
Mr Edwards said he had attempted to look the defendant in the eye as he sat in the dock, but that he had avoided eye contact with him.
“He’s a scumbag, isn’t he? An absolute scumbag,” he said.
“No remorse, not one ounce, not one sign of regret for what he’s done. If anything, arrogant to actually believe he can pull the wool over people’s eyes and get away with it.”
‘Dangerous, despicable and ruthless’
Merseyside Police investigated more than 1,400 hours of CCTV footage, carried out 37 searches and examined 1,800 exhibits in relation to Elle’s murder.
To convict the “dangerous, despicable and ruthless individual” the evidence was overwhelming.
The jury was shown evidence relating to Chapman’s DNA, including red gloves worn by the attacker when carrying out his shooting, which police seized at his friend’s address.
A bullet casing found at the scene of the murder was also covered in Chapman’s DNA.
CCTV footage of the 23-year-old also showed Chapman ruffling his long hair and dropping the Skorpion gun as he walked towards his friend’s home just 12 minutes after the shooting.
Police arrested Chapman 17 days after the attack while in a supermarket despite repeated requests to hand himself in.
Detective Superintendent Paul Grounds told Sky News: “This was a sickening attack by a ruthless and dangerous individual.
“It’s incomprehensible that somebody would think that they could get away with leaving the house, possession of a gun, going to a pub that was packed and then discharge a submachine gun into a crowd.
“That night changed the lives of many people forever.”
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Chapman was seen arriving in Wallasey just before 9pm on Christmas Eve, just under three hours before he would carry out his attack.
CCTV showed him driving a stolen Mercedes A-Class into the pub car park and pulling up in a bay where he lay in wait for 55 minutes.
After seeing his targets, two men from a rival estate, he’s seen approaching the building and then firing 12 shots indiscriminately into a crowd of people at the entrance of the pub.
Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, Chapman’s intended targets, were both seriously injured.
Just a day before the attack the pair had assaulted an associate of Chapman.
The prosecution said his “inexplicable actions” were the culmination of this “ongoing feud”.
DS Grounds added: “Connor Chapman has given Elle’s family a life sentence.
“I hope during his period in custody, which will be significant, the enormity of what he’s done and what he’s taken from that family remains with him for the rest of his life.”
Mr Edwards said Chapman has shown no remorse throughout the entirety of the trial.
The grieving father said: “I was looking at him to see his reaction, to see if he had any ounce of remorse for what he’s done.”
He added: “And he doesn’t, he doesn’t care for what he’s done and what he’s guilty of.
“He hasn’t got an ounce of humanity about him – he hasn’t showed one bit of regret.”
Remembering his daughter before her funeral in January, Mr Edwards told Sky News: “She’s the type of person that would walk into the room and everyone would gravitate towards her because she was always smiling.
“She was beautiful looking and she was a great hugger. She was just a fantastic human being with a heart of gold.”
He added: “Christmas Day didn’t mean anything, that had gone.
“It didn’t feel real and Christmas will never be the same. Christmas will never be a point of celebration for me, ever.”