Connor Chapman was caught on CCTV taking off his balaclava and dropping his submachine gun

This showed him “appearing beyond a hedge and shaking his hair, having just taken off his balaclava”. Travers added: “I think the prosecution says he dropped the submachine gun on the ground. He has been at the Private Drive location for approximately five hours. Mr. Waring returned during that time and spent a substantial amount of time with Mr. Chapman .

“The indictment states that he took possession of the firearm used by Chapman in the murder. In fact, Mr. Chapman went to that address and gave him the gun to look after.

“The assistance to an offender (account for which Waring was convicted) is related to the storage of the Mercedes, but mainly the destruction of the Mercedes. He goes on that trip to Frodsham to burn the Mercedes, so Thomas Waring’s knowledge that Connor Chapman was Guilty of murder obviously comes from the fact that, a few minutes after the murder, he went home in the used car and kept the gun.”

DS Cietak agreed. Travers then continued: “A glove was also found at Waring’s address on a table in the living room. This glove had a particle of gunshot residue on it and had the DNA of Mr. Chapman as well as Mr. Waring. It may be that Mr. Chapman left not only the gun and car with Waring, but also at least one glove that he was wearing at the time of the shooting.”

Once again, DS Cietak agreed. He was then asked about the clothing worn by Chapman at the time of the shooting, described as a “distinctive” Berghaus wool and a pair of Nike Air Max sneakers with a “bubble heel design.”

These items were never recovered by Merseyside Police. Travers said: “When he arrives at Private Drive, we see him taking off his balaclava. After taking it off, revealing his long hair. It is the prosecution’s case that, having driven directly from the scene to Private Drive, he is still wearing his clothes he was wearing at the time of the shooting?”

DS Cietak confirmed that this was the case. Mr. Travers continued: “He certainly leaves the gun there. The car, he parked in Mr. Waring’s driveway.”

The officer said this was “unknown”, although Chapman had “hid it at home”, potentially inside a garage. DS Cietak was asked if there were images showing whether the gunman had returned to his home on Houghton Road in Woodchurch wearing the same clothes, to which he said: “As I recall, you can’t make out the Berghaus logo. quality is bad. To be 100% sure, it would be impossible.”

Travers told him: “If he had a change of clothes in the car or had borrowed clothes, they would have looked similar to the clothes worn at the time of the shooting. But those are two possibilities.”

DS Cietak responded: “He’s off camera for a few hours. He could have put on clothes that look the same, but they’re not the same.”

Travers also said there was “no evidence” that the bag of clothes left at Dowdall’s home contained wool or Berghaus sneakers. The detective agreed that “there was no evidence of that.”

Meanwhile, Chambers’ lawyer claimed there was “no evidence that he had collected the clothes” and no footage showing him attending Dowdall’s Big Meadow Road address after visiting Chapman on December 25. Mr Travers said: “The reason Connor Chapman would want to get rid of his clothes is to get rid of the evidence that would link him to the murder.

“Potentially, if the police discovered his Berghaus cardigan or sneakers, it could link him to the murder. We know he certainly got rid of other evidence. The gun and the car are the most obvious example.

“Mr Chapman is leaving the house quite freely during this period, isn’t he? After the murder, we know that he goes to Cheshire Oaks, to a restaurant and to the cinema, on December 26th and goes to Total Fitness on December 26th. December 29th. He is clearly moving quite freely at that moment and is, of course, involved in the Mercedes fire. He had the opportunity to get rid of the clothes himself.

DS Cietak replied: “You could say. I don’t know what his movements were precisely between the time he committed the crime and his arrest. I suggest there would have been opportunities, yes.”

Dowdall, 34, denies a charge of assisting an offender. Matthews, also 34 and from Noctorum, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of the same crime.

Chambers, aged 43 and of no fixed address, denies two charges of assisting an offender, while Owen, aged 50, from Woodchurch, has pleaded not guilty to one charge. The trial, before Judge Morris, continues.