Detectives continue to appeal following murder of Ava White in Liverpool City Centre

Detectives are continuing to appeal for information following the murder of 12-year-old Ava White in Liverpool City Centre on Thursday night, 25 November. We are also issuing the image of a van (below), the occupants of which may have witnessed the assault.

At around 8.39pm, officers were called to reports of an assault in the area of Church Alley. When officers arrived they discovered that Ava, who had been with friends, collapsed on the ground and a member of the public who witnessed the incident was giving first aid.

Paramedics attended at the scene and Ava was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where sadly she died a short time later despite the best efforts of medical staff.

Four males – one aged 13, two aged 14 years and one aged 15 years, remain in custody for questioning.

Road closures remain in place on School Lane, Church Alley and Fleet Street as our extensive enquiries continue.

Detective Superintendent Sue Coombs said: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to Ava’s family, friends and the wider community. Ava’s family are being supported by specialist officers and they have requested that their privacy is respected at this difficult time. Merseyside Police is absolutely determined to bring those responsible to justice. Today we are also issuing new images of Ava from her family.

“We are also sharing a still image of a van which was in the vicinity of the incident and may have witnessed something vital. To be clear, we think those vehicle's occupants are witnesses, and in no way suspected of being involved. However, we still need to speak to those people as soon as possible to confirm what information they might hold.

“We’d also urge anyone else who has captured the incident or aftermath to send any images/footage directly via the following link: 

https://mipp.police.uk/operation/05MP21M43-PO1

“Four males remain in custody for questioning, and a part of the city centre remains cordoned off while we continue our work. I’d like to thank the businesses and residents in the area for their patience and understanding while we make these vital enquiries.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind people not to make any comments on social media which might potentially jeopardise our investigation, including of course names of any people potentially involved. We welcome any such information, but please only pass it on in the following ways so we can continue to make progress in our investigation.”

You can pass information on with reference 21000820789 via ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook, 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.