Gunman who killed beautician outside pub was harboured in the home of woman who hired car for him, court hears

On Tuesday, Liverpool Crown Court heard four people were charged with assisting Connor Chapman in the weeks after he opened fire outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Merseyside, on December 24 2022, killing 26-year-old Elle Edwards and injuring five others, in the culmination of a feud between rival gangs.

Katy Appleton, prosecuting, told the jury Roxanne Matthews, 34, David Chambers, 43, Danielle Dowdall, 34, and Paul Owen, 55, all assisted Chapman, who was convicted of murder last year, in evading arrest.

The jury was shown footage of the moment Ms Edwards was struck as she stood outside the pub shortly before midnight.

The court heard Matthews was alleged to have harboured Chapman at her home in Noctorum, Wirral, which had a converted loft room jurors were shown a photo of.

On January 2 2023, the day after police had spoken to Chapman and urged him to hand himself in, phone records show he messaged Matthews to ask where tissues were, the court heard.

Ms Appleton said: "The prosecution say that Roxanne Matthews is harbouring Connor Chapman at her home address, Ormond Mews, which explains the context of the messages."

Records also showed Matthews carried out internet searches for news on Ms Edwards' murder, Ms Appleton said.

The court heard on January 7 Matthews messaged Chapman to ask if he was OK and he replied: "Yeah just got up ha ha. Heavy this ha ha."

She replied saying "feel awful for you" and told him she would not be long, the court was told.

The court heard Matthews harboured Chapman at her home until January 9, when she booked a stay at the Penllwyn Lodges in Wales.

She hired a car for him, a blue Volkswagen T-cross, and was driven to collect it by Chambers, Chapman's uncle, the jury was told.

The court heard Chambers also took a bag containing the clothes Chapman had worn at the time of the shooting to Dowdall, who allegedly kept hold of it until January 13 when she took it to the home of Chambers' then partner.

On the morning after Chapman was charged with murder, on January 12, the court heard that Dowdall's mother sent her a screenshot of the police press release, to which Dowdall replied: "I know I'm minding his f****** clothes."

Ms Appleton said later that day Dowdall and her mother decided to steal jewellery, bought by Chapman in Pandora before he carried out the shooting on Christmas Eve, which was inside the bag.

She said: "They obviously thought that they would get away with it but David Chambers discovered what they had done. Yet, Danielle Dowdall denied it, messaging David Chambers in February, saying 'mate I'm not a thief' and 'I don't rob off my own'."

Ms Appleton said Dowdall's defence case was that she was given the bag of clothing, in a Santa sack, by Chapman before the shooting, when he claimed he had been thrown out by his girlfriend.

The court heard Owen was alleged to have given his car to Chapman to use on New Year's Eve when he and Thomas Waring burnt out the black Mercedes A Class used in the murder.

The court heard he handed over the car at the Horse and Jockey pub in Upton, and later messaged Chapman saying: "Be careful bacon everywhere."

Ms Appleton said: "The Crown suggest he was warning Chapman of the police presence."

Dowdall, of Woodchurch, Wirral, denies one count of assisting an offender, Matthews denies three counts of the offence, Chambers, of no fixed abode, denies two counts and Owen, also of Woodchurch, denies one count.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.