Elle Edwards: Man who ‘gunned down beautician, 26, booked romantic weekend away with prosecco & petals after shooting’
A MAN accused of killing an “innocent” woman in a deadly machine-gun attack outside a pub booked a “romantic” weekend away just days after, a court heard.
Elle Edwards, 26, was shot in the head with two bullets fired from a Skorpion submachine outside the Lighthouse pub in the Wirral, Merseyside, on Christmas Eve.
Connor Chapman, 23, is accused of the murder of Ms Edwards, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He is also charged with possession of a firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how police raided the home of Chapman’s parents in Woodchuch on New Year’s Day, eight days after the shooting. Chapman was not there.
A relative and a police officer phoned Chapman and urged him to hand himself in, but he refused to do so.
Prosecutor Nigel Power KC told the court how Chapman had booked a romantic break in North Wales – just days after he allegedly
gunned down Elle.
Mr Power said: “On January 9, a woman (who cannot be named for legal reasons) booked Penllwyn Lodges – a holiday home in mid Wales.
“She provided a Connor Chapman number. It was for four nights from the ninth of January. The romance of Prosecco and petals.”
Chapman was then seen at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Welshpool. On January 10, he rang the onsite golf course and complained to the woman “did you give them my number? Cheeky c***s didn’t get my petals and prosecco on ice haha”.
Chapman and his partner were arrested at a Tesco supermarket in Newtown.
An Under Armour top was seized from the washing machine of his home.
Chapman denies the murder of Ms Edwards, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He also denies possession of a Skorpion sub-machine gun with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Mr Power told the court that Ms Edwards was with friends for an “enjoyable night out” when, at 11.47pm, she went out for a cigarette and stood with a group of people.
Footage played to the court showed a man walk round the corner from the car park of the pub and open fire, injuring five people and killing Ms Edwards.
He was using a Skorpion sub-machine gun, a Czech firearm designed for the security services and the army, the court heard.
Mr Power said the intended targets of the shooting were Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld.
The jury was told after the shooting Chapman drove a stolen Mercedes to the home of his friend and co-defendant Thomas Waring, 20, in Barnston, Wirral.
Mr Power told the jury the shooting followed a “history of trouble” between rival groups from the Woodchurch and Ford estates, on either side of the M53 in Wirral.