Niall Barry knew he was facing serious trouble when detectives investigating the murder of Ashley Dale downloaded the contents of her phone.
The 26-year-old drug dealer even made the cowardly move of recruiting the services of an underworld fixer, known only as ‘Gus’ to smuggle him out of the country in the back of a lorry.
But when that plan failed and Barry was arrested, his 'heavy beef' with Ashley's boyfriend Lee Harrison would come to light.
As the jury concluded following an seven week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, his minion, 41-year-old James Witham, barged through the front door of Ashley’s home in Leinster Road, Old Swan, at around 12.30am on Sunday, August 21.
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