The gunshot which killed schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel was Thomas Cashman's second attempt to assassinate a convicted burglar and drug dealer in a matter of hours. Joseph Nee was the intended target for Cashman, who was jailed for life this week following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The 34-year-old had attempted to kill Nee when he instead struck nine-year-old Olivia in her home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year. But another attempt to assassinate Nee earlier that day was foiled when Cashman's target visited a Screwfix store, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The trial heard how Cashman, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, spent much of that day patrolling the area around nearby Finch Lane. On that afternoon, Cashman spotted Nee's Volkswagen Transporter van parked up on the street.
It was outside the home of a man called Timothy Naylor, where Nee would later watch the Liverpool v Manchester United match on television. The two men visited Aintree Retail Park, shopping in Currys and American Golf before getting food from Subway.
They then returned to Finch Lane, with Nee helping Mr Naylor to set up a TV he had purchased. It was at this time that Cashman passed by the address in his own van, a Citroen Berlingo.
In a change of dark clothing, he then appeared on CCTV footage at the junction of Berryford Road and Finch Lane shortly before 4pm. Cameras captured him stood on the street corner with his face covered, peering over in the direction of Mr Naylor's home before doing a sudden "about turn". Nee's van was no longer there.
Unbeknown to Cashman, he had left the area around half an hour earlier and travelled back to Aintree Retail Park in order to visit Screwfix. This was a trip that may well have saved his life, as the prosecution alleged that Cashman had been out to shoot Nee dead at this point.
The hitman continued to keep tabs on Finch Lane throughout the day however. He took a total of 12 trips past Mr Naylor's home in the afternoon and evening of August 22.
Crucially, one such visit came only minutes after the game had kicked off. Nee's van was back on Finch Lane at this time, exactly where Cashman wanted him.
He briefly returned to his home on the Points estate for eight minutes before heading out again and parking his van up on Aspes Road. Dressed all in black and with his face covered, he continued on foot.
For more than half an hour, Cashman waited outside silently with two loaded guns in his possession. Then, at 9.52pm, the game finished.
Jurors heard during a three-and-a-half-week trial that 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. A chilling piece of CCTV footage showed Mr Abraham running for his life as two loud bangs rang out.
Nee was shot in the midriff at this point and stumbled to the floor as a result of his injuries. David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, described how Cashman had "murder on his mind" and stood over the helpless 35-year-old and attempted to discharge the firearm again as he begged: "Please don't, don't lad".
But the gun malfunctioned, and Nee was able to escape. Cashman however continued his "ruthless pursuit" as Nee fled toward the Korbel family home.
Forty-six-year-old Cheryl, alarmed by the gunfire outside, had stepped out of her house to investigate but quickly rushed back indoors when she saw Nee running towards her and away from Cashman - who was dressed all in black and had his face covered. She then tussled with the gunman's intended target in an attempt to keep her front door shut and to keep him out of the property, but was unable to fully close it as it had been left on the latch in order to allow the neighbours to let themselves in for a cup of tea.
The assailant fired another shot with a second, backup weapon - a 0.3 caliber revolver - at this point. This was the shot that claimed Olivia's life, the bullet passing through the door and travelling through the mother's hand before striking her in the chest.
The schoolgirl had been upstairs in bed, but was heard to say "mummy, I'm scared" as she ran to the bottom of the stairs to her mum having been startled by the commotion. With Nee by now inside, Cashman then forced his arm around the door and fired one final shot which became lodged in the doorframe.
Olivia was scooped up by the first police officer to arrive at the scene and rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital after being critically injured, but was pronounced dead shortly before 11.30pm. There were emotional scenes in court as Cheryl Korbel recounted the tragedy in a video interview with police, which was played to the jury.
In it, 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."
Nee was bundled into a car by his associates and taken to Whiston Hospital, later being transferred to Aintree Hospital after suffering gunshot wounds to the chest and lower abdomen. Cashman meanwhile escaped the scene of the shooting by leaping through back gardens before making his way to the home of a woman with whom he had previously had an affair.
She was woken by him standing at her bedside before she phoned her boyfriend Paul Russell, who then arrived at the house. The witness - who cannot be named for legal reasons - reported hearing Cashman make an apparent confession to her partner at the doorstep, telling him: "I've done Joey."
He was then given a change of clothing before being driven back to his Citroen Berlingo van, which he had earlier parked on Aspes Road, by Russell. A pair of Under Armour tracksuit bottoms which he was handed at this time were later found at his sister's home on Mab Lane 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 attacker was also identified to have worn distinctive Monterrain trackies which matched a pair owned by Cashman. But he claimed in his evidence that he had no involvement in the shooting and was counting £10,000 in cash and "smoking a spliff" at his friend Craig Byrne's house on Snowberry Road at the time.
Cashman had admitted being a "high level" drug dealer who made up to £5,000 per week selling cannabis. His various trips around the area throughout the day, by his account, were apparently concerned with his involvement in the supply of the class B substance.
Meanwhile, Cashman accused the woman with whom he had had the fling of attempting to frame him for the murder as she was a "woman scorned". He suggested that her boyfriend Paul Russell owed him a £25,000 debt and questioned whether she had 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 he had "no problems" with the Nee family and counted them as 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."
Cashman was unanimously found guilty of Olivia's murder, attempting to murder Joseph 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. He 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.
"She should not be remembered only for her dreadful last moments. Her family have spoken today of Olivia in life and of the hopes and dreams for her future, which were so cruelly snatched away.
"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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