The killer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel has been sentenced to life in prison and will have to serve at least 42 years before being considered for release.
Thomas Cashman was last week found guilty of nine-year-old Olivia’s murder, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, 35, of wounding Olivia’s mum Cheryl Korbel and of possessing firearms with intent to danger life.
Olivia was killed and her mum injured as Cashman fired into their home in Dovecot, Liverpool, after Nee ran into it on August 22 last year.
The 34-year-old declined to appear in the dock for the sentencing hearing on Monday afternoon.
Mrs Justice Yip said she regarded his lack of attendance as “disrespectful” to not only the court but those interested in proceedings, including the family of the deceased.
The judge said the murder “shocked not only the city of Liverpool but the nation”.
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s mother Cheryl Korbel said: “The jury returned a verdict of guilty, which has confirmed our belief that Cashman murdered our beautiful Olivia.
“Olivia was just beautiful with her long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was such a social butterfly, she was particularly good with younger children and was such a caring little girl.
“Liv was the light of our lives, a sassy, chatty girl who never ran out of energy, she was a character, she was my baby, she had amazing qualities and knew what she wanted in life.
“Everyone adored her, she was the baby of our family. My little love, my shadow.
“Now, everything we do and everywhere we go is a constant reminder that she is not there with us. All that promise for her future so cruelly taken away.
“We can now draw a line under seven months of agonising torment that we have had to endure at the hands of Cashman.
“Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief.
“My thanks go to the witnesses who bravely assisted the prosecution case and defied the usual stance of people do not ‘grass’.
“We welcome the sentence given but what I can say is that my family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Olivia.”
A statement from the family of Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s father John Pratt, read outside court by his sister Louise Pratt, said: “Olivia Pratt-Korbel died a scared nine-year-old and we hope Cashman is haunted by this knowledge for the rest of his life.”
Olivia’s mum Cheryl Korbel, 46, had read a statement to the court, taking a teddy which was made from Olivia’s pyjamas into the witness box with her.
She said her daughter had been due to have her hair cut five days after her death and wanted to donate 12 inches of hair to the Princess Trust “for sick kids to have beautiful wigs”.
She described her daughter as a “girly girl” who “had her own style”.
Ms Korbel said as her other two children, Ryan and Chloe, became older, Olivia spent most of her time with her mother.
She told the court Olivia was always talking.
She said: “One thing I miss the most is hearing her say ‘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.”
Ms Korbel described returning to the family home after Olivia’s death.
She said: “Right in that moment I was home, we were back to how our lives were before that night and I soaked up the surroundings until reality dawned and brought me back to my living nightmare.”
She said she was unable to give CPR to Olivia properly because she had been injured.
She added: “My worst nightmare was being separated from Liv, not being with her when she needed me the most.
“I was the first person to hold my baby girl and as her mum I should have been the last.
“I cannot get my head around 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.
“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.”
Ms Korbel said her grandmother had been admitted to hospital recently and a couple of weeks ago was brought home for end-of-life care.
She told the court she “held out long enough to hear that coward had been found guilty” but passed away on Sunday night.
Cashman’s family also declined to attend the hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
Olivia had been standing behind her mother when Cashman opened fire while chasing Nee, who had sought refuge inside after seeing that the door was open.
She was fatally struck by a single bullet that had gone through the door and the hand of her screaming mother, Cheryl.
Cheryl tried to shield her daughter as Nee burst through her front door followed by Cashman. Nee was shot in the leg and torso but survived.
