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Thomas Cashman guilty of murdering Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 9, at her Liverpool home Thomas Cashman guilty of murdering Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 9, at her Liverpool home
(32 minutes later)
Cashman shot girl dead after bursting into her house in 2022 while chasing another manCashman shot girl dead after bursting into her house in 2022 while chasing another man
Thomas Cashman has been found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Liverpool last year.Thomas Cashman has been found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Liverpool last year.
The 34-year-old was convicted by a jury at Manchester crown court of shooting dead Olivia and injuring her mother, Cheryl Korbel, when he burst into her home with two guns on 22 August 2022.The 34-year-old was convicted by a jury at Manchester crown court of shooting dead Olivia and injuring her mother, Cheryl Korbel, when he burst into her home with two guns on 22 August 2022.
Cashman opened fire into the Korbel’s home while chasing Joseph Nee, who had taken refuge inside, seeing that the door was open.Cashman opened fire into the Korbel’s home while chasing Joseph Nee, who had taken refuge inside, seeing that the door was open.
There were gasps and cries in the packed courtroom as the jury foreman replied “guilty” when asked for the verdict.There were gasps and cries in the packed courtroom as the jury foreman replied “guilty” when asked for the verdict.
Cheryl Korbel, clutching a teddy bear, sat in a public gallery separate to friends and family of her daughter’s murderer.Cheryl Korbel, clutching a teddy bear, sat in a public gallery separate to friends and family of her daughter’s murderer.
In a trial lasting three and a half weeks, jurors were told how Cashman was a cannabis dealer in Dovecot, where Olivia lived with her family, making more than £150,000 a year.In a trial lasting three and a half weeks, jurors were told how Cashman was a cannabis dealer in Dovecot, where Olivia lived with her family, making more than £150,000 a year.
In court, he said he was not the masked man pictured on CCTV chasing Nee down the street and was at a friend’s house at the time of the murder, but the jury were convinced he was guilty.In court, he said he was not the masked man pictured on CCTV chasing Nee down the street and was at a friend’s house at the time of the murder, but the jury were convinced he was guilty.
Cashman, who described himself as “a dad, not a killer”, was also found guilty of attempting to murder Nee and wounding Olivia’s mother with intent by shooting her through the hand.Cashman, who described himself as “a dad, not a killer”, was also found guilty of attempting to murder Nee and wounding Olivia’s mother with intent by shooting her through the hand.
He was also convicted of two further counts of possessing a 9mm-calibre self-loading pistol and a 0.38-calibre revolver.He was also convicted of two further counts of possessing a 9mm-calibre self-loading pistol and a 0.38-calibre revolver.
He is due to be sentenced at a later date, expected to be next week. Cashman cradled his head in his hands and wept as the verdicts were returned, wiping his eyes with his hand. He faces life imprisonment with a minimum term of at least 30 years when he is sentenced on Monday.
More details soon Outside the courtroom, a woman who identified herself as Cashman’s sister angrily berated police officers, who she said were “stitching him up”.
She shouted: “I am livid, absolutely livid,” before claiming that Nee, the intended target, had incriminated someone else in Olivia’s murder.
The woman, surrounded by police officers, continued: “All you’ve got on Tommy is driving round his own area selling weed and that’s all you’ve got … Youse are stitching him up. Oh my god. Oh my god.”
It can now be reported that the trial was due to take place in Liverpool but had to be moved to Manchester because Cashman felt he would not get a fair hearing in Merseyside, where tensions ran high after the killing.
It can also be disclosed that another man, Paul Russell, has admitted assisting an offender by helping Olivia’s killer drive away from a house and disposing of his clothing. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Maria Corr, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s complex casework unit, described Cashman as a “ruthless criminal” and said it had been “a truly tragic case and one of the most complex I have had to deal with in my 32 years with the Crown Prosecution Service”.
She added: “At the heart of it is a nine-year-old girl who has lost her life. Olivia Pratt-Korbel was in her own home, with her family, where she should have been safe.
“By contrast, Thomas Cashman is a ruthless criminal who recklessly pursued another man, with no consideration of the consequences. He was intent on violence that night, arming himself with two loaded guns.
“He refused to display any guilt or remorse, denying his involvement throughout and putting Olivia’s family through the torment of a lengthy trial.”
The jury had been deliberating for around nine hours before returning their guilty verdicts.
In a video interview with police that was played in court, Korbel recounted how Olivia was “gasping for breath” after being shot in the middle of the chest on what had, until moments before, been an ordinary evening.
The family were at home on Kingsheath Avenue when they heard gunshots on the street outside. Opening the door to see what was happening, Korbel was confronted with Nee, who ran towards their house, seeing the door was ajar.
As Korbel went back inside and tried in vain to shut the door, she was shot in the hand by the same bullet that hit Olivia, who was standing behind her.
It was a warm night and Olivia, a year 4 pupil at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic junior school, had struggled to sleep, saying she was too hot. She was at the bottom of the stairs when the commotion happened and witnesses heard her say, “Mummy, I’m scared.”
Korbel tried to shield her daughter as Nee burst through her front door followed by Cashman. Nee was shot in the leg and torso but survived the attack.
Korbel said: “The door flew open, I was huddled over the baby [Olivia] because I couldn’t lift her by myself because of my arm.”
She added: “There was blood everywhere. I knew it wasn’t right. I lifted her top and that’s when I knew she’d been shot in the chest.
During the three-and-a-half-week trial, the court heard from several witnesses who told police about “the worst screaming I’ve ever heard in my life” after the shooting.
A neighbour, Adele Maher, described seeing from her bedroom window a man dressed in “all black from head to toe” chasing another man.
“He was running with an arm stretched out in front of him,” she told police. “Seconds later I heard another two loud noises followed by the worst screaming I’ve ever heard in my life. I think it was women screaming, hysterical, out of control. It threw me into an instant panic because I knew then something bad had happened.”
She added: “I could hear Chloe, my neighbour Cheryl’s daughter, on the phone to someone. She sounded distraught. She was saying: ‘Where are they? Where are they? She’s dying.’ I realised then that something must have happened at Cheryl’s house.”
Another neighbour, Olivia Heffron, said she heard a “completely inconsolable” Korbel screaming “she’s dying, she’s been shot in the chest” and begging people on the street for help. “I have never seen anyone in such a state of distress like that before,” Heffron said.
A further witness, Libby Boylan, described seeing a police officer carrying a little girl in what looked like bloodstained pyjamas out of the house.
During his trial Cashman had claimed the shooter was not him and he was being framed by a former lover whose house he visited after carrying out the attack.
Under cross-examination, his voice cracked as he said: “I’m getting blamed for killing a child. I’ve got my own children. I’m not a killer, I’m a dad. I’m getting blamed for something I haven’t done.”
Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside police, said Olivia’s murder had taken a “devastating” toll on the girl’s family.
She added: “I simply can’t imagine the pain that they’re going through every day, and I offer my sincere condolences to Olivia’s family. But I would also like to pay tribute and pass my thanks on to the SIO Mark Baker and all of his team and the Crown Prosecution Service for all the work that they’ve done over the past six months to make sure that we brought the person responsible for Olivia’s murder, Thomas Cashman, to justice.
“I know that will never bring Olivia back but hopefully the family will get some small comfort in knowing the person that took their daughter away from them is now behind bars.”