A mother has been accused of hiding Connor Chapman in her loft after the murder of Elle Edwards because she ‘fancied him’.
Ms Edwards, a 26-year-old beautician, died after being shot outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey, Wirral, on Christmas Eve 2022.
Chapman was convicted of her murder in July last year and later jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years.
Two men and two women are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of assisting an offender in connection with the fatal shooting.
David Chambers, Danielle Dowdall, Paul Owen and Roxanne Matthews all deny the respective charges against them. A jury of eight men and four women continued to hear evidence today.
Matthews is accused of hiring a car and a lodge in Wales for Chapman following the murder, as well as harbouring him at her home on Ormond Mews in Noctorum.
Elle Edwards, 26, (pictured) was killed when Connor Chapman fired 12 shots from a Skorpion pistol into a group of people outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey
Roxanne Matthews outside Liverpool Crown Court, where she is charged alongside three others with assisting an offender
Connor Chapman (pictured) opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse
However, the mother says she did so without any knowledge of his involvement in the shooting.
Katy Appleton, prosecuting, asked her during cross-examination this morning: ‘You told the police “I just took a liking to him to be honest”, as in Connor Chapman, “I just used to think he was funny”. Did you fancy him?’
Matthews, who previously told the court that the killer had slept on her sofa and in her converted attic before his arrest, replied ‘no’. When Ms Appleton continued ‘is that why you let him stay?’, she again said: ‘No.’
It was then put to her that she had told detectives under interview, ‘I’ll tell you everything I can’, although she claimed at this stage that Chapman had taken the hire car without her consent. Matthews said of this: ‘Everything other than with regards to giving permission for the vehicle.’
Ms Appleton continued to read from the transcript of her questioning following arrest. An officer told her ‘this is your chance to tell us what’s gone on’, to which she responded: ‘I’d give you 100 per cent if I knew.’
The mother-of-three told the court: ‘I give 100 per cent in everything other than hiring the vehicle. I was petrified. If I knew what he’d done I wouldn’t have booked him a car in my name to take to Wales. That is the truth.’
Matthews, who alleges that Chapman had been kicked out by his girlfriend at the time after getting another woman pregnant, was then asked if she ‘thought it was odd’ that he was staying at her home. She replied: ‘Not at all, not the reason he was staying at my house.’
Elle’s family gathered together and celebrated Christmas before her death
Ms Appleton said: ‘You were asked what discussions did you and Connor have. You say “it’s not something he’s ever brought up or a discussion I’ve ever had with him, it’s not something I would have had a discussion with in general”.’
Matthews told the jury ‘that’s correct’. Ms Appleton then said: ‘You were being asked about your phone call to the police on January 13. You say “I’ve got no reason to lie about it or keep any information back”. That’s exactly what you did.’
She replied ‘nothing in relation to stopping the investigation of the murder’. The prosecution barrister continued: ‘You say ”I was faithful to him”. Faithful in assisting him?’
Matthews said: ‘Faithful in not telling his girlfriend with regards to my friend being pregnant or telling anyone.’
Ms Appleton put to her: ‘You were asked about Connor Chapman. You say “they’re all gang members, everyone knows this”.’
Matthews stated that she was ‘being totally honest’. Ms Appleton continued: ‘Rather than assist the investigation, you kept quiet about Chapman being at your house.’
Miss Edwards lost her life and five others were also injured on December 24 last year
She replied: ‘No. That’s not correct.’ Matthews was then asked ‘why she had taken a liking to him’ during re-examination by her counsel Martine Snowdon. She told the court: ‘He was polite, funny, bubbly. He wasn’t rude. He seemed to me like a nice lad. A sense of humour. He was nice.’
Ms Snowdon continued: ‘It was suggested you had made up the fact of your friend telling you she was pregnant with Connor Chapman’s baby. Did you talk to anyone other than your friend and Connor Chapman about that over this period?’
Matthews responded: ‘No, I wouldn’t do that to her. Obviously what she done was wrong. He had a girlfriend and it caused a lot of trouble. He didn’t want anyone to know and didn’t want his girlfriend to find out.’
When asked whether she was still friends with the other woman, she added: ‘No. It was clear I had to mention it. Everything else would explain itself. Obviously she was horrified. It’s not something she wanted the world to know, especially after what he’d been charged for.’
Matthews has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assisting an offender. Dowdall, aged 34 and of Woodchurch, denies one charge of assisting an offender.
