Jurors have been told they will bear a "heavy responsibility" when they are sent to deliberate on the fate of Thomas Cashman tomorrow.
Closing arguments have been delivered and the trial judge has started summing up the evidence at Manchester Crown Court, where the 34-year-old is into the fourth week of his trial for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel. Olivia, nine, died on August 22 last year when a gunman fired a bullet through the front door of her family home in Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, injuring her mum, Cheryl Korbel, in the wrist and striking her in the chest.
The gunman had been chasing 36-year-old convicted drug dealer and burglar Joseph Nee, who barged into the Korbel house while fleeing for his life. Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, denies any involvement in Olivia's murder or any of the shooting.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman murder trial updates as case enters final stages
This morning (Tuesday) Professor John Cooper, KC, defending, concluded his closing arguments and told the jury "there are others that wanted Joseph Nee dead". He reminded the jury of an agreed fact, read to them earlier in the trial, which said at the time of the shooting Joseph Nee and his immediate family "had their enemies."
He told the 10 men and two women on the jury: "Please take away with you in your minds this admission. It is central to this defence.
“It is telling you, and it’s agreed by the prosecution, that on the night that that trigger or triggers were pulled on Joseph Nee he had enemies. Enemies, plural.
“You know therefore that on the night that the triggers were pulled there were multiple people who were his enemies. Not had an enemy, but had enemies."
Mr Cooper told the jury the prosecution had not shown any evidence of animosity between Cashman and Nee. He said: "There is no evidence presented of any bad blood between Thomas Cashman and any of the Nee family, quite the contrary.
“There is unchallenged evidence that he was amicably talking to Joseph Nee the day before. You can take it as accepted, otherwise it would have been challenged.
“There is evidence that on occasions, another brother had been with this defendant and they were laughing and joking, talking amicably.
“He knew where the Nee’s mother lived. On all occasions, his relationship with them was amicable and friendly. That’s the evidence. He gave it on oath.”
Mr Cooper said the prosecution's "key witness", a woman who told the police Cashman "confessed" to the shooting later that night, was motivated by anger after he refused to leave his partner, Kayleeanne Sweeney, to be with her. Cashman also claims that she was further motivated by a £25,000 debt her boyfriend owed him for cannabis, and the chance to claim a financial reward for information about Olivia's murder.
Referring to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, Mr Cooper said: “A woman angry, a woman bitter, a woman feeling she had been used and thrown away."
Yesterday, David McLachlan, KC, prosecuting, delivered his own closing speech in which he suggested the key witness could not have known certain details she told the police about the gunman's movements that night, including the fact he had allegedly used back gardens to escape, unless she had been telling the truth.
He told the jury: "How could [the witness] know he’d garden hopped? How could she know he wasn’t alibied at home?
“She couldn’t know. How could she know he wasn’t in the shops or the pub watching football. How could she have any idea the clothes she said she gave him would be recovered from his sister’s address?
“In short, she couldn’t know these things. Is she trying to stitch him up for the murder of a nine-year-old girl because she was angry, resentful or vindictive or because she wanted the financial reward?
“Or is it the case that she told you the truth?"
The afternoon Judge Mrs Justice Yip began summarising the evidence for the jury, and told them they would be sent out to consider their verdicts at some point tomorrow. She told the jurors: "We have now reached the final stage before you retire to consider your verdicts. You probably didn’t anticipate being involved in something as high profile as this.
“There is no getting away from the fact you have been given a heavy responsibility. Everyone here recognises you have exercised your roles as jurors diligently throughout the trial and I am sure you will continue to do so.
“This is a case that engenders emotions. You know you need to be analytical, to focus on the evidence. I have observed you doing that throughout the trial.”
As well as denying Olivia's murder, Cashman denies the attempted murder of Nee, as well as wounding Cheryl Korbel with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. He also pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, namely a 9mm calibre self-loading pistol and a 0.3 calibre revolver.
The trial continues.
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