The trial of five men accused of murdering Daniel Ambler will continue on Monday at Teesside Crown Court. Jurors have so far heard the majority of the Crown's case from prosecutor Matthew Donkin KC, with the defence due to begin soon. A number of witnesses have also given evidence, setting out their version of events.
The five men are accused of Daniel's murder and of violent disorder. Each denies murder, but Ashton Anderson has admitted violent disorder. The defendants are Barry Anderson, 52, of Canon Cockin Street, Sunderland; Ashton Anderson, 20, of Noble Street, Peterlee; Barry Logan Anderson, 19, of Shotton Bank, Hartlepool; Ajay Henry, 18, of Melrose Crescent, Seaham; and Tyler Leadbetter, 18, of Elgin Avenue, Seaham. Ashton Anderson and Logan Anderson are brothers. The elder Barry Anderson is their father, while Ajay Henry and Tyler Leadbetter are friends of Ashton Anderson.
The alleged victim and the family feud
Daniel Ambler, 22, was unemployed and living in Sunderland alone before his friend Reece Wilkin moved in with him. In a statement, Daniel's mother Andrea Walker said he was on sickness benefits and Universal Credit at the time of his death and had "alcohol and drugs issues". She said Daniel would "score drugs" in Seaham, getting the bus there from Sunderland. Her statement said: "On the day he died, I did not know where he was, I found out he died because Reece rang me and told me what happened."
Prosecutors say Daniel was "deliberately targeted" by the defendants for reasons relating to an ongoing feud that had become violent between families. The court heard that in 2025 Barry Anderson was stabbed. Mr Donkin said: "The Anderson family believed that one of the people responsible for that stabbing was a man named David Ambler. David Ambler is the older brother of Daniel. The Andersons and Amblers have been involved in a feud and that is what led to the death of Daniel Ambler on January 15."
The Nissan X-Trail and the bus stop
Ashton Anderson, his then-girlfriend Alexis Prest, and friends Ajay Henry and Tyler Leadbetter, were driving around Seaham in a Nissan X-Trail in the hours before the alleged murder. Ashton Anderson was behind the wheel. Jurors heard how the group had initially planned on going to Sunderland for food before they saw Daniel in Seaham.
In her witness evidence, Alexis Prest said: "[Ashton] clocked Daniel Ambler…the whole atmosphere changed in the car. He pulled up making sure it was him. He then continued to drive, making calls asking his dad to come and see him." It is the Crown's case that Barry Anderson then arrived in Seaham, meeting up with the defendants.
The incident then got under way at a bus stop on January 15 this year. Daniel was standing at the bus shelter on Whitlea Road with friends Reece Wilkin and Anthony Davison. The defendants were said to have spotted Daniel, who ran off. He was then chased by Logan Anderson.
The Mallard pub and the petrol station
As everyone scattered from the bus stop, Barry Anderson chased Reece Wilkin towards the Mallard pub, where they began fighting. CCTV footage, shown in court, showed the Nissan - which was being driven by Ashton Anderson - ploughing into the fighting men and the pub beer garden wall. The Nissan narrowly missed Barry Anderson. Ashton Anderson then reversed out of the damaged wall and drove off into the direction of the petrol station where Daniel and Logan Anderson were.
The Crown say Logan Anderson chased Daniel from the bus stop towards the petrol station forecourt, passing a small patch of grass. Anderson then allegedly attacked Daniel with a weapon. One witness who had been refuelling his own vehicle at the time of the incident - Daniel Miller - described what he saw. Mr Donkin said: "He saw a man on the floor and another man with what he believed was a hammer swinging down to hit the man on the floor. He thought the man looked like he was injured - that he was out of breath, heavy on his feet - it was then that the Nissan came in. Mr Miller said he thought the vehicle had come in at speed."
It is alleged that Ashton Anderson drove the Nissan X-Trail towards Daniel, "crushing" him between the vehicle and the shop. Mr Donkin said: "There was no deviation or attempt to stop. The car was driven into the front of the shop with what must have been the inevitable result - the killing of Daniel Ambler."
Fleeing scene and fatal injury
Speaking of the moment the Nissan was driven into Daniel at the petrol station, witness Alexis Prest said "Ashton went straight into him". She said Daniel didn't have time to react and everyone got out of the car and fled. She said the others in the car "stood for a second and realised what they'd done" before running away, and described Ashton as "being in shock". She added: "I didn't want to be there, I had no intentions in being involved in any of it, I was scared." The witness said she had to climb over the driver seat to get out of the vehicle due to a faulty door, before ringing her mum to pick her up.
A post-mortem found that Daniel had died as a result of injury to his neck and he had suffered many other fractures and lacerations. It, the prosecutor said, is thought that he had also received injuries to his head from a weapon. The prosecution told jurors on the first day of the trial: "The group had arrived as a team to attack Daniel Ambler and it ended up with one of them driving the car that killed him. It's the prosecution case that they are all guilty of murder even though it was Ashton Anderson who caused the fatal injury." The trial continues.
