A man convicted of murdering 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was sentenced on Monday to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 42 years.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was given two concurrent sentences for the murder of Olivia and the attempted murder of 36-year-old drug dealer Joseph Nee, his intended target.
He was also given 10 years for wounding Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel, with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and two 18-year sentences for two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. All sentences will be served concurrently.
But the defendant escaped a whole life order because the school girl was not his intended target.
He can be released after 42 years if the parole board decides it’s appropriate and would then remain on license for the rest of his life.
Cashman, who previously denied all charges, didn’t appear in court for the sentencing. His lawyer John Cooper, KC, said Cashman had been “spoken to and been given certain advice but he is concerned that the matter is turning into a circus.”
Judge Amanda Yip said Cashman’s absence was “disrespectful” to the court, as well as to the family of the deceased.
On the evening of Aug. 22, 2022, Korbel and Olivia were shot by accident after Nee, a convicted drug dealer and burglar, was injured by gunshots and chased into their home.
Reading the sentencing statement, Yip described how Cashman was “armed with two guns” and had “set out to kill Joseph Nee.”
“He lay in wait before opening fire in a residential street. CCTV footage captured him standing over Mr. Nee shooting at close range,” she said.
“When the first gun malfunctioned, Mr. Nee was able to scramble away but the defendant had his second gun ready.”
The judge said Cashman “relentlessly pursued Mr. Nee, causing him to seek refuge by barging into the home occupied by Olivia’s family.”
“Undeterred and wholly unconcerned for the safety of others, he continued to shoot at Joseph Nee, firing into that family home,” she said.
That was when Olivia, who came downstairs to seek comfort from her mother after hearing gunfire in the street, was fatally shot by a bullet that flew through the front door and passed through her mother’s wrist.
“The defendant then managed to get his hands inside the door and fired another shot inside the house. Fortunately, the door was closed on his hand and the bullet discharged into the door frame, avoiding the people inside,” Yip said.
Reading a statement in court ahead of the sentencing on Monday, Korbel said one thing she misses the most is hearing Olivia call her “mum.”
“I just miss hearing her voice. It’s just so quiet. I would do and give anything in the world to hear her chatting to me,” she said.
Korbel told the court that she was unable to give CPR to Olivia properly because she had been injured, and she couldn’t understand “how Cashman continued to shoot after hearing the terrified screams and utter devastation he had caused.”
“He doesn’t care. His actions have left the biggest hole in our lives,“ she said. ”That man set out to do a job and he didn’t care about anyone else or who got in the way. He certainly couldn’t own it either.”
Olivia’s sister Chloe, 18, told the court that the day Olivia died was “the worst day” of her life.
“Not only did I lose my baby sister but I lost my best friend,” she said during the sentencing hearing. “When I was told she passed away I felt as though my heart had stopped beating. A piece of me left with her that night and since then I have felt as though I am in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”
During the trial, which lasted more than three weeks, Cashman, a father-of-two, admitted to being a “high-level” cannabis dealer in the area, but denied being the shooter on that night.
He gave an alibi saying he had been at a friend’s house, counting £10,000 in cash and smoking marijuana, around the time of the shooting.
CCTV captured the back of the shooter, who wore tracksuit bottoms that matched a pair worn by Cashman that night, according to a woman who had an affair with Cashman.
The crucial witness told the jury that Cashman went to her house after the shooting, changed his clothes, and said he had “done Joey,” referring to Nee.
Cashman told the court she was a “woman scorned” and accused her of lying because she wanted to “ruin” his life.
