Elle Edwards murder: Connor Chapman jailed for a minimum of 48 years

A man who murdered a 26-year-old beautician when he fired a sub-machine gun into a crowd outside a pub on Christmas Eve has been jailed for a minimum of 48 years.

Connor Chapman, 23, was found guilty of murdering Elle Edwards by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

 
Members of Ms Edwards' family shouted "goodbye lad", "scumbag" and "rat" as Chapman was taken down from the dock after being sentenced on Friday.

He fired 12 bullets from a Skorpion sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey, Merseyside, just 10 minutes before Christmas Day last year.

Along with killing Ms Edwards, he injured five men, two of whom were his intended targets.

 
His co-defendant, Thomas Waring, 20, was sentenced to nine years in prison for the possession of a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping to burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the murder, after also being found guilty.

Chapman was found guilty of Ms Edwards' murder following a trial which lasted more than three weeks.