Merseyside Police’s Chief Constable branded people involved in gun crime as “cowardly and despicable” after Thomas Cashman was convicted of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Cashman, 34, was unanimously convicted at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday (March 30) after an eighteen-day trial. The drug dealer was also found guilty of attempting to murder Joseph Nee, wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Additionally, 41-year-old Paul Russell pleaded guilty to assisting an offender in October 2022 after disposing of the clothing worn by the gunman and driving him back to his van following the shooting. This could not be reported until the verdict was delivered in Cashman's case due to the ongoing proceedings.
READ MORE: Serena Kennedy vows to 'hunt down' those who 'enabled' the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel
Olivia, nine, was killed inside her home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot on August 22, 2022. She was shot fatally in the chest when Cashman fired a bullet through the front door of her family home, which also injured her mum Cheryl Korbel. The 34-year old drug dealer was chasing 36-year-old Joseph Nee, who barged through the front door of the Korbel family home while fleeing for his life.
Merseyside Police's Chief Constable Serena Kennedy welcomed the jury’s unanimous verdict, telling the ECHO: “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 (Senior Investigating Officer) Mark Baker and all of his team and the Crown Prosecution Service for all of the work that they’ve done over the past six months to make sure 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 that the person that took their daughter away from them is now behind bars.”
Olivia was one of five people to lose their lives to gun crime on Merseyside in 2022, with three of the fatal shootings occurring within a week. Sam Rimmer, 22, died in hospital after being shot several times at Lavrock Bank, Dingle, on August 16. Ashley Dale, 28, died after being shot by a man who burst into her home in Leinster Road, Old Swan and fired multiple shots "indiscriminately" at around 12.40am on August 21.
Olivia was fatally shot in her home the following night, before two women lost their lives to gun crime in Wirral later in the year.
Jackie Rutter, a 53-year-old grandma of five, was shot dead in the doorway of her Moreton home in what her family believed was a "revenge attack" on October 30. Then, on Christmas Eve, 26-year-old beautician Elle Edwards was shot dead at The Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village while enjoying a night out with friends.
CC Kennedy described those behind these attacks as “absolutely cowardly, despicable people", vowing to hunt them down and bring them to justice.
She said: "Anybody who is willing to pick up a gun to settle a dispute they have with another person is taking a risk, but it's a risk they are not bothered about. They don't care about the consequences, they don't care that a family has lost a son, daughter, brother, sister, or a partner. They're just not bothered.
“They don't care about the consequences, they're not people that we want living in our communities in Merseyside. We will hunt them down, hold them responsible and put them before the courts.”
CC Kennedy praised the communities of Merseyside for the response to the murder of Olivia. She, and other officers, referred to the murder as a defining moment for a region that has had enough of organised crime.
She said: "I think the communities of Merseyside were absolutely horrified when they woke up that morning and realised that another child had been murdered, had lost their life because of a firearm. It was the anniversary of Rhys (Jones) and people talked then about a watershed moment. Yet again, there we were 15 years later.
"I think what we saw from the communities is that real commitment and renewed commitment. And from Merseyside Police and from partners, to make sure that we carry on and do more around tackling serious and organised crime.
"And making sure that we divert young people away from that lift of crime, tackle those people who are involved in the supply of drugs, but also deal with those people who end up getting exploited and getting involved in that and making sure we can identify them and safeguard them."
CC Kennedy added: "I think the communities of Merseyside should be incredibly proud of themselves in terms of their response to the murder of Olivia. The way in which people came forward, the way in which people gave evidence, I think demonstrated to the whole country the strength in the communities of Merseyside.
"I was incredibly proud of the way we stood together, as communities, as police and partners, to say we absolutely will not tolerate serious and organised crime and the use of firearms on the streets of Merseyside. We were overwhelmed with the amount of intelligence and the way in which people came forward."
CC Kennedy emphasised the work that Merseyside Police is doing to tackle gun crime. She believes that begins with educating young people and keeping them away from a life of crime.
She said: “We do know that there are firearms on the streets of Merseyside. But I think the work that we've done over the past 20 years to tackle that problem, we are seeing the lowest number of firearms discharges over the past 20 years.
“We recognise that we've had five people who have been murdered using guns. But we are absolutely relentless in our pursuit of those people who are willing to pick up a gun to settle their disputes or to enable their criminal activity.
“We have dedicated resources invested in investigating every single firearms discharge, we've got resources dedicated within our firearms unit, within our local policing teams, who are committed to carrying out proactive operations.
“We saw in the days after Olivia's murder. We arrested 420 people, we executed 98 warrants, we identified, secured and located 11 firearms. That work will continue.
“I think the important thing to say, as well as that relentless pursuit of those criminals who operate in that serious and organised crime world, is the prevention and that preventative approach.
“Starting off with educating our young people, their parents, their carers, around how people can start to be exploited by those gang members. Looking for the signs, working with our partners, working with education and also recognising that when young people do end up coming to light for those first-time offences, how we can keep them out of the criminal justice system and how we can divert them away from that life of crime.”
The Chief Constable added: "In 2012, we saw 125 firearms discharges on the streets of Merseyside. In 2021, that number was 39.
"39 is too many because we know that every single one of those firearm discharges can end up as a murder. That is why it's really important that we investigate every single firearms discharge.
"That's why, in 2019, we invested offices into a firearms investigation team and what we saw between 2019 and 2020 was a 50% reduction in firearms discharges because of the success of that team.
"But I'm talking about successes and I'm talking about tackling firearms crime in a positive way when we know that five people have been murdered using firearms on the streets of Merseyside.
"It's absolutely not about being complacent - it's about looking at the approach we're taking and reinforcing that commitment and stepping up that commitment together with our partners and our communities to tackle firearms discharges, to identify those people who are willing to pick up a gun to settle disputes without any regard for our communities, any regard for somebody who might be injured or murdered."
Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale and Elle Edwards were all shot with Scorpion submachine guns - a deadly weapon which arrived in the UK two years ago. CC Kennedy emphasised the danger posed by these weapons, but pointed to the work that Merseyside Police and other law enforcement agencies are undertaking to deal with that threat.
She said: “It is frightening - in terms of the way those Scorpion weapons work, in terms of the fact they can discharge over 10 bullets in a matter of seconds. Let's face it, people aren't going out and being trained on how to use those weapons.
“I think we are seeing the impact of those weapons on the streets of Merseyside. We know they have been used eight times over the past two years, but there is also really positive work ongoing.
“In Merseyside alone, we have seized five Scorpion type firearms in the past two years. This is a UK-wide problem and we are working really closely with the National Crime Agency (NCA) to identify how those weapons entered the UK, who has got possession of them and identifying where they are and recovering them.
“That work between the NCA and the Regional Organised Crime Unit is absolutely critical to tackling the type of weaponry we're seeing currently on the streets of Merseyside.”
Cashman will return to Manchester Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced.
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