Ashley Dale's heartbreaking final message sent less than 30 minutes before she was shot dead

A documentary series on the murders of Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt-Korbel started on Channel 4 tonight. Merseyside Detectives follows the force's investigation into the high-profile killings that rocked the city to its core.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary, from Liverpool-based company LA Productions, looks at the investigations of DCI Cummings and Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Baker, the senior investigating officer into Olivia's murder. The four-part documentary provides exclusive access into Merseyside Police's investigations, and will also include interviews with the officers involved in the cases and the victims' families, including Ashley's mum, Julie Dale, and Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel.

Ashley was 28 when she was shot dead with a machine gun in her own home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, in the early hours of August 21, 2022. James Witham, Joseph Peers, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz were tried at Liverpool Crown Court accused of Ashley's murder, and were unanimously convicted by a jury on Monday, November 20, 2023.

The court heard Ashley's murder came against the backdrop of an ongoing feud between the four men and Ashley's boyfriend Lee Harrison. Monday's first episode took an in-depth look at what happened the night Ashley was shot.

Ashley was at home with her pet dog, Darla, and sent a selfie of the pair together to her friend named Lois less than an hour before she was shot dead. Ashley joked her dog had been spooked at something outside as the message read: "Any need for my child” with a crying laughing emoji.

Ashley added: "I’ve never known anything like it. She is scared of something outside. Before in the back, a cat or a rat or something. She’s got me nerves gone cos am scared of both....And now won’t leave me side like an actual baby”.

When the case was heard in court, the jury heard the men who killed her had been outside slashing the tyres of her car at the time the message was sent. In a text message sent to Harrison at 11.40pm, Ashley said: "Now my car alarm is going off".

Six minutes later she sent a WhatsApp message to her mum, Julie Dale, saying: “The rain just set my car alarm off x”. A few moments later, Julie Dale responded to her daughter saying: “Bloody hell really. Wanna see the leaves round here.”

Ashley replied: “Saw that on the news today. Because of the heatwave. World’s ending.” The jury heard that was her last contact with her mum.

The jury heard at one minute past midnight on Sunday, August 21, Harrison replied to Ashley saying: "Hahahah you think you're in a horror movie". He then followed up with "Are you ok? Alive?" Ashley joked back: "No I'm dead."

At 12.32am, a sensor on Ashley’s phone showed it moved a distance of five steps, a distance of 4.33 metres. At 12.33am, Ashley made a one minute 43 second voicemail call to her boyfriend, Harrison. Harrison did not answer that call.

CCTV footage shown during the trial showed the Hyundai used in the shooting drove onto Ms Dale’s road at 12.30am and left the road two minutes 36 seconds later. At Liverpool Crown Court during the trial on October 10, 2023, Ashley's family shed tears as Detective Sergeant Graeme Sutton read out Ashley's final messages.