Julie Dale shares Lee Harrison's 'disrespect' when they met up after Ashley was killed

Julie Dale has shared details from the time she met with Lee Harrison after her daughter, Ashley Dale, had been killed. She spoke about the meeting during episode two of Merseyside Detectives tonight.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary, from Liverpool-based company LA Productions, follows the force's investigations into the murders of Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt-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.

In the documentary, Julie broke down in tears as she recalled the moment police knocked on her door to tell her Ashley had been shot. She explained: "The first thing I said to them was 'where's her boyfriend'? I think they said they couldn't locate him at that moment in time."

Julie revealed Harrison contacted her in the aftermath to arrange a meeting and she asked if he was co-operating with the investigation. She said: "My first question was 'have you been to the police' and he said 'no', he can't think of anything, that was the words he used, [about] why this has happened. I had to go and see him."

Julie shared details of their meeting as she said: "Lee was there, he didn't even get dressed, sat in his boxer shorts. Didn't even have the decency to put any clothes on. He maintained his innocence, he doesn't know anything about it. He can't think of anything why it's happened."

Ashley's stepdad, Rob Jones, said Harrison adopted the same un-co-operative approach he did with the police. He said: "He just shut down with us. What the police had said to us he'd been like with them he was being much the same with you and me. The disrespect that brings because he knows full well who it is."

Julie said she couldn't understand why Harrison wouldn't want to co-operate with the investigation into his long term girlfriend's murder and criticised the "no grass culture" that exists in some quarters of society. She said: "It doesn't get anymore serious than this.

"Your girlfriend has been shot dead in the home that you shared together, but you can't speak." Rob added: "It's not grassing, it's telling the truth and doing the right thing. There's no comeback for Ashley.... If you love that person then you tell the truth."

Harrison remained un-cooperative throughout the police investigation. After the guilty verdict was found in Liverpool Crown Court last year, Julie said in her victim personal statement how Ashley's only crime was falling in love with the "wrong person".

She said: "Ashley's only crime was that she fell in love with the wrong person. A person who could not keep her safe in life or offer any assistance with the investigation that followed or show any compassion to me or my family but continue to lie and make up reasons why, none of which included him."

Ashley's dad, Steven Dunne, said she had misgivings about having children with Harrison. In his own victim personal statement, read out on November 22, 2023, by lead prosecutor Paul Greaney, KC, he said: "Ashley loved going to festivals but had started recently speaking to me about wanting to start a family.

"She knew her current relationship was not one that she wanted to bring a child into, but she just couldn’t bring herself to make that permanent break. Ashley never got the chance to be a mum, and her family have been robbed of the chance of meeting Ashley’s children, my grandchildren."