Olivia Pratt-Korbel's killer Thomas Cashman had attempted to assassinate Joseph Nee just hours before his botched hit failed and he shot dead the innocent nine-year-old schoolgirl instead. The convict was targeting Nee when little Olivia was struck and killed in her home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot on August 22 last year.
Cashman's initial plot was foiled when his intended victim had unexpectedly gone to Screwfix instead. Manchester Crown Square Court heard the 34-year-old gunman had spent the majority of his day patrolling the area nearby Finch Lane, the ECHO reports.
He had spotted Nee's Volkswagen Transporter van parked up on a street in the early afternoon outside the home of a man called Timothy Naylor where he would later watch the Liverpool v Manchester United match on TV. The two men went to Aintree Retail Park and shopped in Currys and American Golf before getting food from Subway and returning to Finch Lane where Nee helped Mr Naylor set up a TV he had purchased.
It was at this time that Cashman passed by the address in a Citroen Berlingo in dark clothing and was spotted on CCTV footage at the junction of Berryford Road and Finch Lane shortly before 4pm. Cameras captured him on the street corner with his face covered looking in the direction of Mr Naylor's home before doing a sudden 'about turn' when he realised Nee's van was no longer there.
Unbeknown to Cashman, his target had left the area about half an hour earlier and travelled back to Aintree Retail Park to visit ScrewFix. This was a trip that is likely to have saved his life as the prosecution alleges that Cashman had been out to shoot Nee dead at this moment.
The hitman continued to keep tabs on Finch Lane throughout the day, taking a total of 12 trips past the home in the afternoon and evening of August 22. One of his visits came just minutes after the game had kicked off and Nee's van was seen back on Finch Lane exactly where Cashman wanted him.
He briefly returned home for eight minutes before heading out again and parking his van on Aspes Road and continued on foot. Cashman waited outside for over half an hour with two loaded guns in his possession before the game finished at 9.52pm.
Jurors heard when Nee left the address with another man, Paul Abraham the gunman approached them from behind and opened fire with a self-loading Glock-style pistol. CCTV footage showed Mr Abraham running for his life while Nee was shot down and stumbled to the ground.
David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, described how Cashman stood over the helpless 35-year-old and attempted to shoot him dead as Nee begged: "Please don't, don't lad". However, his gun malfunctioned and Nee was able to escape as he fled towards the Korbel family home, closely followed by Cashman who continued his 'ruthless pursuit'.
Cheryl Korbel, 46 heard the gunfire outside and stepped out the house to investigate but quickly rushed back indoors when she saw the two men running towards her. She then fought with Nee in an attempt to keep her front door shut but failed as she was unable to fully close it on time having left it on the latch to allow some of her neighbours inside.
Cashman fired a second shot with his backup weapon, a 0.3 caliber revolver which was the bullet that claimed little Olivia's life. The shot passed through the door and travelled through the mother's hand before striking the innocent nine-year-old in the chest.
The schoolgirl had raced down to the bottom of the stairs after being startled by the commotion when Cashman's careless shot fatally hit her. At this point Nee was inside and Cashman, whose face was covered, forced his arm around the door and fired one final shot which became lodged in the doorframe.
Olivia was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital after police arrived at the scene but she was sadly pronounced dead shortly before 11.30pm. Emotions were running high in court while the jury heard heartbroken Cheryl Korbel recall the tragedy in a video interview with police.
She said: "I heard the baby screaming, that’s when I turned round and spotted her sat at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t keep her awake. I knew she’d gone. I knew she’d gone."
In the aftermath of the shooting, Nee was bundled into a car by associates and taken to Whiston Hospital before he was later moved to Aintree Hospital to be treated for his gunshot wounds in his chest and lower abdomen. Cashman escaped the scene by jumping through back gardens and making his way to the home of a woman whom he previously had an affair with.
She was awoken by him standing at her bedside before phoning her boyfriend, Paul Russell. The witness, who can't be named for legal reasons, reported hearing Cashman confess to her partner: "I've done Joey."
He was given a change of clothing before being driven back to his van by Russell. A pair of Under Armour tracksuit bottoms which he was handed were later found at his sister's home with his DNA and traces of gunpowder residue on them.
Giving evidence from the witness box, the woman told the trial: "I’m sorry, I can’t forgive anyone who has hurt any child. If he was any sort of man he’d just f****** own it.
"I can’t believe he’s making the family go through what they’re going through. It’s a child, it’s a child. She can never go home ever again. It breaks my heart."
The defendant denied being involved in the shooting in the court and claimed he was counting £10k in cash and 'smoking a spliff' at his friend Craig Byrne's house on Snowberry Road at the time. He did confess to being a 'high level' drug dealer who makes £5k a week selling cannabis and claimed his various trips around the area on the day were concerned with him supplying the class B substance.
He told the court the woman whom he had previously had a fling with was trying to frame him for murder as she was a 'woman scorned'. He also suggested that Russell owed him a £25k debt which was why she had turned on him having been motivated by the possibility of reward money.
He told jurors: "It shows you the lengths a woman who’s got something in for someone would go to. This is how low they go to."
The defendant also stated that he had 'no problems' with the Nee family and considered them to be his friends. The father-of-two, who was defended by Professor John Cooper KC, said on the witness box: "I'm not a killer, I'm a dad."
However, Cashman was unanimously found guilty of Olivia's murder and attempting to murder Nee, wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against Cheryl Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The remorseless killer was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years on Monday. Sentencing him in his absence after he refused to appear in the dock, Justice Amanda Yip said: "The killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel is an offence that shocked not only the city of Liverpool, but the nation.
"Olivia’s name is likely to be remembered for many years. It is plain that Olivia was a lovely little girl, who cared for others and brightened the lives of her family and friends. They have suffered an unimaginable loss which they must carry for the rest of their lives."
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