Connor Chapman was convicted of the murder of Elle Edwards and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years. On December 24, 2022, he murdered Edwards outside a pub in Wallasey Village. A new Channel 5 documentary, Murder Scene: The Incident Room, airs tonight at 8pm and retells the investigation through the eyes of real detectives who worked on the case.
What happened on Christmas Eve 2022
Shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve, Chapman armed himself with a Skorpion submachine gun. He waited for Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, members of a rival gang, outside the Lighthouse pub in Wirral for three hours. After he spotted the two men outside having a cigarette, Chapman opened fire 12 times. Both were seriously injured, but neither were killed.
By chance, Elle Edwards had been stood beside Salkeld, and at this exact moment was tragically shot in the head by two of the bullets and died aged just 26. Detective Superintendent Paul Grounds, who led the investigation into her murder, said at the time: "Connor Chapman is a ruthless and callous individual, and we've seen that by the sheer determination of what has occurred at the Lighthouse public house. He indiscriminately discharged that gun with no thought or care for anybody."
The investigation and conviction
Elle's murder shocked the people of Merseyside and beyond, and soon became a nationwide investigation. Chapman was arrested on January 10, 2023, at a Tesco in Newtown, Powys, Wales, after fleeing to a holiday home following Elle's murder. In July 2023, he was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and firearm offences at Liverpool Crown Court.
He received a life sentence with a minimum term of 48 years. Chapman was 23 years old at the time of his sentencing. He later attempted to appeal against the length of his sentence, but the court rejected his challenge. Chapman is currently serving a life sentence in prison.
Chapman's criminal history
Chapman's name was already known to Merseyside Police for the best part of a decade, possibly even longer. Growing up on the Woodchurch Estate and mostly living with his grandparents, Chapman attended Woodchurch High School but left before sitting his GCSEs. He was first hauled before the courts as long ago as 2014, when he would have only been aged around 14, for shoplifting.
At one stage during his trial at Liverpool Crown Court in 2023, his own barrister, Mark Rhind KC, read out his criminal record in full. It took several minutes to reach the end of the list. In 2021, he was described by the court as a "nuisance ASBO yob". He was then aged 20 and his record stood at 19 convictions for 43 offences.
Chapman was released from a spell behind bars in summer 2022. His first child had been born while he was inside, and - with a second daughter on the way - he would tell a jury that he felt the urge to turn over a new leaf and grow up. He did so by turning away from the anti-social behaviour of his younger years and turning to dealing cocaine, as well as burgling a house in Noctorum and stealing two electric motorbikes.
