The man who shot and killed 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in her own home during a grudge match has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum sentence of 42 years. Gunman Thomas Cashman, 34, refused to sit in the dock at Manchester Court on Monday after he was found guilty of killing the girl and intentionally wounding his mother last week.
Cashman fatally shot Olivia on August 22 during what prosecutors described as “a ruthless pursuit” to execute another man. The killer was running down Kingsheath Avenue in a Liverpool suburb, shooting a 35-year-old man, who was later identified as Joseph Nee, a convicted drug dealer. After hearing a noise in the street, Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel, opened the door of her house at 10:00 p.m. to see what was happening when Nee took the opportunity to enter and hide.
Despite efforts to restrain Cashman, he managed to enter the house and fired indiscriminately, hitting Cheryl in the wrist and killing Olivia, who was hiding behind her. The assailant fired two more shots from the doorframe, hitting Nee in the upper part of her body, before running away. Shortly after, some of Nee’s friends came to the house and took him to the hospital, while Olivia bled to death on the floor. The girl suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and she was later taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in critical condition, where she ultimately passed away.
In the days after the incident, Commissioner Serena Kennedy confirmed that the family had no relationship with either of the men. The case, one of a series of murders in the English city, shocked the UK, resulting in the arrest of nine men before Cashman was finally arrested and charged with Olivia’s murder more than a month and a half later. October 1st.
During sentencing, Judge Amanda Yip said she considered Cashman’s absence “disrespectful” not only to the jury but also to Olivia’s family. Her lawyer, John Cooper KC, explained that Cashman had not attended because he knew that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had sung We are the Champions after convicting him last week, according to Sky News.
The girl’s mother, Cheryl, cried hugging a stuffed animal as she testified before the judge: “I can’t figure out how Cashman kept shooting after hearing the terrified screams inside our house. His actions have left the biggest hole possible in our lives”.
Yip claimed that Cashman had made it very clear that he “was a criminal” and had “shown no remorse” for his actions. “For Olivia’s murder,” he continued, “only one sentence can be passed. It is the mandatory life sentence.” In addition to Olivia’s murder conviction, Judge Yip also sentenced him on four other charges, including the attempted murder of Nee.
The sentences followed a 19-day trial, during which the jury heard Cashman admit to operating as a “high level” cannabis dealer in the suburb of Dovecot, east of central Liverpool. Cashman had been “watching” Nee on the day of the murder, stalking him armed with two pistols while he watched a football game at a friend’s house.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
