Connor Chapman, the individual behind the murder of Elle Edwards outside a pub in Wirral, has lost his appeal against the length of his prison sentence. Chapman, who was part of a gang feud, had opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun towards the entrance of the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village on Christmas Eve in 2022. 26-year-old Ms Edwards, an innocent bystander, was shot twice, and five others were injured during the incident. Chapman received a life sentence that carries a 48-year minimum term.
At a hearing in London, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, who presided over the case, alongside Mrs Justice May and Mr Justice Foxton, noted that Chapman’s sentence was “severe, but not manifestly excessive,” and upheld it. During his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the court heard that Chapman had attempted to kill two men, Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, who stood close to where Ms Edwards sat on a raised flowerbed. Chapman had specifically targeted Salkeld and Duffy for their links to a rival gang based in Wirral’s Beechwood estate.
After lurking outside the pub for almost three hours, Chapman fired the weapon in his possession. The judge labeled him a “highly dangerous man” who “didn’t care” who was hit when he opened fire in his sentencing remarks. The verdict puts an end to Chapman’s ability to challenge the length of his prison sentence further.
The incident, which occurred almost a year and a half ago, caused widespread outrage in the UK and drew attention to the spiking levels of violence and crimes involving guns and knives in the country. The verdict sends a decisive message to those involved in such illicit activities that their actions will not be tolerated and that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law
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