Drug-dealing gunman Thomas Cashman has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 42 years for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Mrs Justice Yip said Olivia's family had suffered an "unimaginable loss" and praised the "bravery and strength" of mum Cheryl Korbel.
Calling the murder "chilling," Justice Yip said: "For the murder of Olivia, there is only one sentence that can be passed, that is a mandatory life sentence."
Cashman, 34, was found guilty last week of murdering the nine-year-old and wounding with intent of Cheryl, 46, as he chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee into their home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool on August 22 last year.
Gasps were heard from the public gallery as the sentence was announced and Cheryl and other members of Olivia's family were seen crying.
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s mother Cheryl Korbel said: “The jury returned a verdict of guilty, which has confirmed our belief that Cashman murdered our beautiful Olivia.
“Olivia was just beautiful with her long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was such a social butterfly, she was particularly good with younger children and was such a caring little girl."
She added: "Liv was the light of our lives, a sassy, chatty girl who never ran out of energy, she was a character, she was my baby, she had amazing qualities and knew what she wanted in life.
“Everyone adored her, she was the baby of our family. My little love, my shadow."
Cashman also received life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years for the attempted murder of drug dealer Joseph Nee.
For wounding Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, he received 10 years.
The killer was also charged with two firearms offences, for which he received 18 years.
The sentences are to be served concurrently, meaning Cashman will serve a minimum of 42 years - less the 182 days spent on remand - before he is considered for release by a parole board.
"The real gravity of this case is that a young child was shot and killed in her own home," Justice Yip said, explaining that she did not agree that Olivia's age made her more vulnerable.
Justice Yip called it a "targeted, planned, execution attempt" on Joseph Nee and it was premeditated, though this premeditation was not directed at Olivia.
Cashman was said to have been hired to kill Nee by a feared international drug trafficking cartel who suspected the latter of a jail plot to steal a consignment of their cocaine.
Justice Yip said Cashman had not shown remorse and "there is no real mitigation available to the defendant."
Cheryl continued: "Now, everything we do and everywhere we go is a constant reminder that she is not there with us. All that promise for her future so cruelly taken away.
“We can now draw a line under seven months of agonising torment that we have had to endure at the hands of Cashman.
“Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief...
"We welcome the sentence given but what I can say is that my family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Olivia."
In a statement on behalf of the family outside the court, Olivia's aunt Louise Pratt said they are "happy" with the sentence.
She said: "We are happy with the outcome but we will not be celebrating as nothing will fill the gap left in our lives following the loss of Olivia.
"Olivia Pratt-Korbel died a scared nine-year-old and we hope Cashman is haunted by this."
Cashman was brought into the court earlier today, but was not present in the room when his sentence was read out and he did not face the victim impact statements.
The senseless violence rocked the community as the family's world was flipped upside down. Cheryl arrived at court today with a teddy made out of her daughter's pyjamas.
Heartbroken, she told the court in a family impact statement that "It’s so very lonely without her" and recalled Cashman continuing to shoot even as Olivia's cries were heard.
Tearfully, she said: "One thing I miss most is hearing her say ‘mum’, I just miss hearing her voice, it’s just so quiet...
"I can’t cope with the silence."
Mrs Justice Yip said she regarded Cashman's lack of attendance as “disrespectful” to not only the court but those interested in proceedings, including the family of the deceased.
John Cooper KC said Cashman had not attended as he was aware that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were singing We are the Champions following the verdict in his trial.
He said: “He has been spoken to and been given certain advice but he is concerned that the matter is turning into a circus.”
Cheryl added that her nan passed away last night and believed she had "lived long enough to see that coward found guilty."
Cheryl continued: "This happened in our home where we felt safe and should have felt safe. It’s so hard to go back to the area where I grew up and raised all my three children.
"His actions have left the biggest holes in our lives."
She added: "I cannot even think of rebuilding our lives without her... Now I have to drive to the cemetery to be close to my daughter."
A statement on behalf of John Francis Pratt, Olivia's dad, was read to the court.
“No words can truly make you understand the pain I am feeling at the loss of my beautiful daughter Olivia,” the statement said.
He added: "I am heartbroken, sometimes I just want to end it so I can be with Olivia again."
It continued: “You have changed my life and my family’s life forever... We will never be a whole family again”.
Olivia's older sister said the her birth was "the best present I ever received" and "I just loved her so much."
Before the court, Chloe said: "My family and I are living in a real-life tragedy, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”
She added: "I miss Olivia, I miss my baby sister, and I miss my best friend. I grieve for what we will never get to do together.”
After deliberating for eight hours, the jury of 10 men and two women found Cashman guilty.
He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, guilty of possessing a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life and guilty of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life.
In mitigation, Mr Cooper said: "There is no evidence in this case of any form of communication pre-planning or arrangements that could lend itself to the submission that there was substantial planning or premeditation."
During the 19-day trial, Cashman tried to paint himself as a "high-level" cannabis dealer in the area, but the jury saw through him after hearing how he "scoped" Nee out and lay in wait with guns to shoot him.
CCTV played to the jury shows Cashman, who was identified as the figure in the footage due to a pair of distinctive tracksuits, chasing Need up the road while firing three shots.
Nee ran towards the open door of Olivia's home as Cashman kept firing. A bullet went through the door, mum Cheryl's hand and struck Olivia in the chest.
Cashman tried to say he was counting £10,000 in cash at a friend's house at the time of the shooting.
He also tried to appear emotional at points saying: "I'm not a killer, I'm a dad."
However, the testimony of one witness blew his version of events out of the water.
The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said they had a "fling" and he went to her house after the shooting where he changed his clothes and told her that he had "done Joey".
She only came forward after she had "put two and two together” when she saw the news about Olivia.
Justice Yip praised the unnamed witness and said: "Her evidence was significant ... and she chose to do the right thing."
Louise Pratt added the witness "showed courage and stood up for Olivia by giving evidence."
Paul Russell, 41, who admitted assisting an offender by driving Cashman away from an address after the shooting and passing his clothes to another person, is expected to be sentenced separately at a later date.
It comes as sources said that top gangsters want Cashman dead for the murder and for other alleged crimes - he has allegedly been linked to three other unsolved deaths.
He has allegedly been looked at as a suspect in the fatal shootings of Nick Ayers, Karl Bradley and Blake Brown.
A source alleged to the newspaper that Cashman "knows everything" about organised crime in the area and it could benefit people fellow criminals to have him silenced.
An alleged £250,000 bounty has been sent to criminals in the region and in jails via the Telegram app.
It is unclear where Cashman, currently in HMP Strangeways, will be moved to after he is sentenced.
In his summing up, David McLachlan KC, for the prosecution, told jurors that Cashman was "the gunman who shot Olivia and he is not prepared to own it."
He went on: “You know better than anyone when someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes; that’s what the prosecution say Thomas Cashman is trying to do.”
In the end, the jury disagreed with defence counsel John Cooper KC's assertion that there was no evidence against Cashman, describing the case against him as a “mad circle that is the prosecution”.
As news of Cashman's absence from court, Labour’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said it was a "scandal" that "the Tory government has stood by while killers, rapists and terrorists pick and choose whether they turn up to face justice."
He added: "It is disrespectful and grossly offensive to victims that criminals can refuse to face the consequences of their crimes in court. For victims and their families, this can be a vital part of seeing justice done."
A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said Cashman "shouldn’t be able to hide from justice" because Olivia "and her family weren’t able to hide" from the killer.
The source added: "This is exactly why the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to changing the law so that offenders are forced to face the consequences of their actions."
Gang-related violence in Liverpool has previously led to intimidation of potential witnesses, such as in the shooting of Rhys Jones in 2007.
Rhys, 11, was struck by a stray bullet and died. Appeals for information were broadcast over the tannoys at Liverpool and Everton football clubs, but people were still reluctant to come forward to detectives.
Cheryl said: "My thanks go to the witnesses who bravely assisted the prosecution case and defied the usual stance of people do not ‘grass’."
After the Cashman's sentencing for the murder of Olivia, Merseyside Police thanked the people of Liverpool.
"This couldn't have been achieved without the support of the people of Merseyside," the force said.
Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Mark Baker, of Merseyside Police, said the “courage and bravery of Olivia’s family” was "in direct contrast to the cowardice shown by Thomas Cashman."
Speaking outside court, he said: “We welcome today’s sentence which reflects the severity of the crime committed by Thomas Cashman and he now has a long time behind bars to contemplate his actions.
“In fact, he won’t be out until he’s a very old man."
Louise Pratt added that their family's thoughts were with the families of Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale, Jacqueline Rimmer and Ellie Edwards, all of whom were gunned down in separate shooting incidents in Merseyside within the last year.
"We hope you get the justice [their] loved ones deserve," Louise said. "Our greatest hope is for this conviction to lead to more guns - and especially those used in the murder of Olivia - to be handed into police so no other families go through this tragedy."
