Jurors about to hear the murder trial of a nine-year-old girl have been told it would be “perfectly natural” to feel “shock and upset” at her shooting.
Mrs Justice Yip spoke to potential jurors as they were brought into Courtroom 1 at Manchester Crown Court ahead of the trial of Thomas Cashman.
Cashman is alleged to have been the gunman responsible for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, at just after 10pm on August 22 last year.
Her mother, Cheryl Korbel, 46, was injured in the shooting as the gunman chased convicted burglar Joseph Nee into their home.
Cashman, 34, denies the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of Nee and the wounding with intent of Olivia’s mother.
Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, Liverpool, also denies two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Mrs Justice Yip spoke to a jury panel before 12 jurors are selected to hear the trial, expected to last around four weeks.
She said: “The trial concerns the shooting in Liverpool in August last year which resulted in the death of a nine-year-old girl, Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
“The defendant is Thomas Cashman, sat in the dock, he’s charged with murdering Olivia, with wounding her mother Cheryl Korbel and the attempted murder of a man called Joseph Nee and also firearms offences.
“In simple terms, he says it wasn’t him.
“I realise many of you will have heard about Olivia’s death, at the time there were lots of reports about it.
“If you did see or hear the news reports you may have formed some views at the time.
“It would be perfectly natural to have felt shock and upset about it, you may well have talked about it with family and friends at the time, as we all tend to do.
“The jury who will try the case will be presented with all the evidence.
“Of course, no-one has yet heard any of the evidence, so any views that you or anyone else had at the time of news reports are not informed views that a jury will have when they get to the end of the case.
“The verdict the jury reach will be based on the evidence they hear in court and not on anything else.”
Earlier Olivia’s mother and other family members arrived at court wearing pink ribbons.
They sat in the courtroom near the dock, where Cashman was surrounded by four dock officers, and in front of the public gallery where a number of members of the defendant’s family were.
The 12 members of the jury are expected to be picked on Monday afternoon before David McLachlan KC opens the case for the prosecution.
