Murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel

Olivia Pratt-Korbel was born on 13 June 2013. Her mother, Cheryl Korbel, was aged 46 at the time of the shooting. Olivia had an older brother and sister and lived in Liverpool, North West England. Thomas Edward Cashman is an English father-of-two born on 4 September 1988 in Liverpool. Prior to being jailed he was living in West Derby, Liverpool. Cashman grew up in Liverpool with four siblings. He left school at the age of 13 before going to work at a fairground in Wales. He then returned to Liverpool to become a drug dealer and sold cannabis at a small-scale. He had 18 previous convictions for 33 offences. ==Killing==

Around 10 pm on 22 August 2022, While Nee attempted to enter the house, Cashman, who was wearing a balaclava and a black jacket, approached the house and shot four times. One of the bullets went through Cheryl's hand and into Olivia's chest, fatally wounding her. The inquest heard that a police officer attempted to save Olivia's life after the shooting. Nee, the intended target of the attack, was a convicted drug dealer and burglar. He had been released on licence in 2021, halfway through his sentence. Pratt-Korbel's siblings were in the house upstairs during the attack. Olivia Pratt-Korbel was later declared deceased at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Merseyside Police understood that Nee walked away from Pratt-Korbel and her mother to get in an escape vehicle, a black Audi car. The next day, he was placed under arrest for breaching his licence conditions and would be returned to prison once medical staff had determined his condition stable enough to be dischargeable. ==Investigation==

During the late night of 25 August 2022, a 36-year-old man was arrested at his flat in Huyton on suspicion of the murder of Pratt-Korbel and two counts of attempted murder. On 30 August 2022, the two men were released. On 1 September, Merseyside Police released CCTV footage of the gunman. On 4 September 2022 one man was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and two others detained on suspicion of assisting an offender. On 7 September the suspects were bailed. On 8 September another man was arrested. A ninth man was arrested on 10 September 2022. On 29 September, police arrested 34-year-old Thomas Cashman on suspicion of murder. On 30 September, a man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. On 1 October 34-year old Thomas Cashman was charged with the murder, two counts of attempted murder as well as two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. 40-year-old Paul Russell was also charged with assisting an offender. The two men appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 3 October. On 21 December 2022, Thomas Cashman appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink from HM Prison Manchester and pleaded not guilty to all five charges. Cashman had been apprehended after a tip-off from a former partner, who lived nearby and he had visited shortly after the murder. When she originally came forward to the police after hearing about the child murder on the news she was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, before police realised she held crucial information and was willingly cooperating. The woman also recounted overhearing Cashman saying something along the lines of "I've done Joey" to Paul Russell, her partner. Other evidence against Cashman was the existence of CCTV which showed him circling the area where the attack on Nee would later take place, showing him driving around in his van on multiple occasions and walking around the area on foot. CCTV of the gunman that night also showed him wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms that matched the style of and design of those worn by Cashman. However, the CCTV recorders themselves were missing. One of these guns was found by police to have been linked to two previous shootings in the area, one of which involved a previous attempt to kill Nee only two weeks prior to Pratt-Korbel's murder, for which Cashman was already considered a suspect. == Trial, conviction and sentencing ==

The trial began at Manchester Crown Court on 7 March 2023, before Mrs Justice Amanda Yip. On 30 March 2023, Thomas Cashman was found guilty of the murder of Olivia along with the wounding of Olivia's mother, the attempted murder of his intended target and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The guns used were a 9 mm calibre self-loading pistol and a 0.3" calibre revolver. Paul Russell had pleaded guilty to assisting an offender in October 2022, but the media were unable to report on it until the conclusion of Cashman's trial. On 26 April 2023, Paul Russell was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment. Cashman was 34 years old at the time of his sentencing. He will become eligible to be considered for parole on 22 March 2064, at which time he will be in his mid-70s. In late April 2023, it was reported that Cashman was to appeal to have his sentence reduced. In July 2023, he was refused permission to appeal his sentence. ==Reactions==

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the killing as a "horrific, senseless shooting". Johnson added: "This is an unimaginable tragedy and we will ensure Merseyside Police get whatever they need to catch those responsible and secure justice for Olivia." Home Secretary Priti Patel visited the site of the shooting and pledged more money for Merseyside Police to reduce weapons and violence. Former Everton F.C. manager Frank Lampard encouraged people to inform police if they had information about the attack. Liverpool held a tribute for Olivia Pratt-Korbel during their match against Bournemouth, which was their first match since the shooting. In the following month's Merseyside derby, the fans of the two clubs also paid tribute to her at the ninth minute of the match. ==References==