Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum begged "stay with me baby" when she realised the schoolgirl had been shot by a bullet which passed through her front door, a jury heard.
The nine-year-old had been in bed but was frightened by the sound of gunshots and ran downstairs, shouting "mum I'm scared", ending up standing directly behind where Cheryl Korbel, 46, was fighting to keep a man from forcing his way inside.
Manchester Crown Court heard the fatal shot penetrated the door, passed through Ms Korbel's right hand and struck Olivia in the centre of her chest, at the property on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, on Monday, August 22, last year.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman trial updates as jury told of moment mum realised Olivia Pratt-Korbel had been shot
The 10 men and two women of the jury heard the distressing details of Olivia's final moments as the prosecution opened its case against Thomas Cashman, 34, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby. Cashman has pleaded not guilty to Olivia's murder, to the attempted murder of the "intended target" Joseph Nee, and to wounding Cheryl Korbel with intent.
He also denies two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
David McLachlan, KC, prosecuting, alleged that Cashman was on a "relentless pursuit" of Mr Nee and earlier that day had spotted his target's van parked outside an address on the corner of Finch Lane and Kingsheath Avenue, belonging to a Timothy Naylor.
The court heard that evening Mr Nee had been watching a Manchester United vs Liverpool FC football match on TV, with a group of friends, at Mr Naylor's house. After the game finished, he was walking away along Kingsheath Avenue with one of his associates, Paul Abraham, when the gunman ran up from behind and opened fire with a 9mm self-loading handgun.
Mr McLachlan told the jury: ""The prosecution's case is that this was a pre-planned and ruthless attempt to kill Joseph Nee. Thomas Cashman checked as to Joseph Nee’s whereabouts on multiple occasions in order to make sure that he was present at Timothy Naylor’s house before the execution was to take place.
"He went so well prepared that he was armed with two loaded firearms. When Joseph Nee had been shot and was begging for his life, the gunman did not and would not stop, he continued in his pursuit.
"He ran after Joseph Nee as he ran up Cheryl Korbel’s pathway, and he fired two more shots. The first of them missed Joseph Nee and went through the door, then through Cheryl Korbel’s wrist before hitting Olivia in the chest before finally lodging in her left upper arm.
"The final shot, around the door, missed Joseph Nee and ended up embedded in the internal door frame.
"The main issue for you in this case will be, are you sure on the evidence that Thomas Cashman was the gunman?”
Earlier the jury saw CCTV from a camera overlooking the street, showing the moment gunfire erupted. Three loud bangs could be heard on the audio of the recording , while the footage showed Mr Abraham flee for his life while Mr Nee stumbled to the ground.
The footage showed the gunman standing over Mr Nee with the gun pointed at him, but the jury heard it appeared the gun may have "malfunctioned" and Mr Nee was able to scramble to his feet and flee towards the Korbel family home a few doors away.
Witnesses described Mr Nee saying "please don't" and "don't lad" and "lad, what are you doing?" as the gunman bore down on him.
The jury heard Ms Korbel had briefly opened the door after hearing the bangs, but tried to shut it again when she realised "the gravity of the situation". However Mr McLachlan said Mr Nee "must have seen the light coming from her front door opening and made a dash towards the door".
Ms Korbel later told police she had been trying to close the door but "it never caught fully because it was on the catch", allowing Mr Nee to barge in.
The gunman was still chasing him, however, and as Mr Nee forced his way inside a further shot was fired from the second weapon, a revolver, the shot which killed Olivia. Mr McLachlan said: "Did that stop the gunman, the fact that a shot had been fired at the door? The answer is no.
“The prosecution say Thomas Cashman did not stop in his pursuit of Joseph Nee.”
The jury heard the killer then managed to force his arm around the partially open door and fired the revolver again, but fortunately that bullet was caught in the door frame and caused no injuries.
Mr McLachlan told the jury that Ms Korbel turned round and noticed her daughter had been wounded. She said Olivia "went all floppy and her eyes went to the back of her head", adding: "I realised that she must’ve been hit, because I didn’t know until then, and I lifted her top up and the bullet had got her right in the middle of the chest."
Olivia's sister, 18-year-old Chloe Korbel, heard her mum screaming "Livia had been hit" and then begging "stay with me baby". Meanwhile, the gunman fled the scene of the shooting on foot, using back gardens to stay hidden.
Mr McLachlan said the prosecution allege that Cashman was the gunman, and then arrived at an address belonging to a woman he knew, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The woman told police she was in bed and awoke to Cashman in her room, telling her "I didn’t know where else to go, I trust you."
The jury heard the witness told police Cashman was "stuttering and saying something like someone was coming for him", having apparently been told that people were "sitting him off, like observing him".
The woman then phoned a man called Paul Russell against Cashman's wishes. After he too arrived, she heard the name "Joey Nee" being mentioned when the two men were talking.
Mr McLachlan told the jury: “We know what had happened to him.” The woman said she gave Cashman some clothes, including blue Under Armour tracksuit bottoms, yellow Nike Sliders and a grey Under Armour t-shirt. However Cashman allegedly left the clothes he had been wearing at her home, which Russell later "moved" after the men departed together.
The jury heard Russell and Cashman left the house at around 10.45pm, and Cashman was dropped off on Aspes Road, near where he had parked his white Citroen Berlingo van. He later made his way home via several stops at properties in the area, arriving at Grenadier Drive at 11.45pm.
Mr McLachlan described how Cashman left his home with his partner, Kayleeanne Sweeney, on August 24 and travelled to an apartment block in Runcorn called The Decks. He was arrested there on September 4. Mr McLachlan suggested Cashman had "left in a hurry" and was in Runcorn to "put himself out of the way."
The jury heard clothing worn by Cashman on CCTV footage recovered from the Runcorn property showed "similarities" to clothing that was worn by the gunman on August 22.
The clothes given to Cashman after the shooting were recovered from the home of his sister, Coleen Cashman, on Mab Lane, where they were found inside a cardboard box which had contained a child's pram. Mr McLachlan said the jogging bottoms contained the DNA of both Thomas Cashman and Paul Russell, and there were two particles of gunshot residue on the right leg matching the same type found at the Korbel family home.
Cashman, after his arrests, told the police he had "nothing whatsoever" to do with the shooting and accused detectives of "stitching me up". He answered no comment to all questions in his interviews.
Concluding his opening, Mr McLachlan told the jury: "It is only natural, is it not, to feel sympathy for Cheryl Korbel and her family, because they have lost a loved one in what are truly terrible circumstances.
"Sympathy will play no part in your consideration of the evidence in this case. We will never say convict this man because a young girl has died. We would never say that, we do not say that…
“You can convict him on the evidence, not on emotion and sympathy."
The case continues.
PROCEEDING
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