A drug dealer has been found guilty on Thursday of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel as he chased another dealer into her home in Liverpool.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was also found guilty by a jury of the attempted murder of 36-year-old Joseph Nee—his intended target, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel, and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Cashman has previously denied all charges.
Following the verdict, Cheryl told reporters she was feeling “ecstatic” as she left the Manchester Crown Court.
Cashman’s relatives left the courtroom shouting, swearing, and protesting his innocence.
She claimed others were responsible for Olivia’s murder, not her brother, as she was ushered out of the court building by police officers and court security.
On the evening of Aug. 22, 2022, Cheryl and Olivia were shot by accident after Nee, a convicted drug dealer and burglar, was injured by gunshots and ran into her home.
Moments later, as she sat at the bottom of the stairs, a shot was fired through the front door and it passed through her mother’s right hand and struck Olivia in the chest, fatally wounding her.
McLachlan said of Korbel: “She turned round and saw her daughter, Olivia, at the bottom of the stairs. She said, ‘I remember when I turned round and realised the baby was right behind me … she went all floppy and her eyes went to the back of her head, and I realised that she must’ve been hit.”
He said Olivia’s mother said, “Stay with me, baby” as her daughter’s life ebbed away.
McLachlan said the man then pushed the front door open slightly and fired another shot into the house, which fortunately didn’t hit anybody.
Cashman, a father-of-two, admitted to being a high-level cannabis dealer but denied shooting the three victims.
He claimed that around the time of the shooting he had been at a friend’s house where he counted £10,000 in cash and smoked marijuana.
During his evidence, he told the court: “I’m not a killer, I’m a dad.”
But a woman who had an affair with Cashman told the jury he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed his clothes and she heard him say 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.
The court also heard that Nee and his family “had their enemies” and it was not the first time he had been targeted in a shooting.
Detective Superintendent Mark Baker, the senior investigating officer in the case, said Cashman’s actions were “abhorrent.”
“When he found out that he had shot an innocent young girl, he should have had the courage to stand up and come forward,” he said.
“Instead, he chose to lie low despite the fact that he was a dad himself.”
Baker said Cashman is “not worthy of walking the streets of Merseyside.”
Senior crown prosecutor Maria Corr said the case has been “one of the most complex” that she had to deal with in her 32 years with the Crown Prosecution Service.
“At the heart of it is a nine-year-old girl who has lost her life. Olivia Pratt-Korbel was in her own home, with her family, where she should have been safe,” she said.
“By contrast, Thomas Cashman is a ruthless criminal who recklessly pursued another man, with no consideration of the consequences. He was intent on violence that night, arming himself with two loaded guns.
Corr said Cashman had “refused to display any guilt or remorse, denying his involvement throughout and putting Olivia’s family through the torment of a lengthy trial.”
A spokesman for Rishi Sunak said the prime minister’s thoughts “remain with the family and friends of Olivia during what must be an incredibly difficult time.”
