Third arrest over Ashley Dale murder as police reiterate Olivia appeal

Police investigating Ms Dale’s death also called for people who may have information to come forward.

Ashley Dale (Handout/PA)

A third person has been arrested in connection with the murder of a council worker in Liverpool as police continued to appeal for information regarding the fatal shooting of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

A 27-year-old man from Dovecot has been arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm by detectives investigating the murder of Ashley Dale earlier this month.

An inquest hearing on Tuesday was told environmental health officer Ms Dale was found when police were called to her home in Old Swan in the early hours of Sunday August 21.

Olivia Pratt-Korbel (Family handout/PA) (PA Media)

Merseyside Police said emergency services attended and found her in the rear garden with gunshot wounds to her body.

She was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

A post-mortem examination gave her medical cause of death as a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

A 25-year-old man from Liverpool arrested on suspicion of Ms Dale’s murder and a 21-year-old woman, also from Liverpool, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender were conditionally bailed pending further inquiries on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old man from Dovecote has been taken to a police station for questioning and remains in custody, police said.

Help us find justice for Ashley’s family, and for a community devastated by her loss

Detective Chief Inspector Cath Cummings

Officers believe the Knowsley Council worker was not the intended target of the shooting.

Detective Chief Inspector Cath Cummings said: “We have now made three arrests and extensive inquiries continue to establish the motive behind this attack, and to identify all those involved.

“Although progress is being made, I’d still like to urge anyone with information who has yet to come forward to do so as soon as possible.

“Please do not assume that what you know has been passed on by someone else, or that it is not significant enough to bring to our attention.

“I have a team of dedicated detectives who will make that assessment. Help us find justice for Ashley’s family, and for a community devastated by her loss.

“From extensive ongoing CCTV inquiries, we do know there were people walking close to the scene at the time of the offence.

“If this was you or someone you know, please come forward as you may, without realising, hold vital information to assist this investigation.

“Similarly, I would continue to ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area between 12.20am and 12.40am and have dashcam footage to please contact us.”

Meanwhile, just over a week on from nine-year-old Olivia’s murder, the force reiterated its appeal for information.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: “A lot has already come in and we’re grateful to those in our communities who have come forward.

“But just because we have seen two arrests doesn’t mean that we need that information any less.

“Tell us what you know, directly or anonymously, and let us judge how important that information is.”

A 36-year-old man from Huyton and a 33-year-old from Dovecot were arrested on suspicion of murder and two counts of attempted murder in relation to Olivia’s death last week and have been released on bail.