Closing summary
Thomas Cashman has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 42 years for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel after being found guilty of murdering the nine-year-old in a shooting that has repulsed Britain.
In 2022, nine-year-old Olivia was standing behind her mother when Cashman, 34, opened fire while chasing Joseph 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 mother, Cheryl Korbel.
The judge said: “For the murder of Olivia, there is only one sentence that can be passed: that is a mandatory life sentence. Let there be no misunderstanding about this, the sentence will be one of life imprisonment. However, for reasons I shall explain, this is not a case which requires a whole-life order.”
For the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, Cashman, who was not present in court, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 22 years. For wounding Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, Cashman received a further 10 years’ imprisonment. And for the remaining two firearms offences, Cashman was sentenced to 18 years for each.
Personal statements from Olivia’s parents and her older sister, Chloe, were read before the Manchester crown court on Monday. “My family and I are living in a real-life tragedy, and there’s nothing we can do to change that,” said Chloe.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Olivia’s aunt and mother, Cheryl, made statements welcoming the outcome. “Olivia Pratt-Korbel died a scared nine-year-old and we hope Cashman is haunted by this knowledge for the rest of his life,” said her aunt, Louise Pratt. While Olivia’s mother expressed relief that justice had prevailed, Cheryl said the family has “already started our life sentence having to spend our lives without Olivia.”
Merseyside Police’s detective superintendent Mark Baker said he hopes the 42-year sentence will serve as a deterrent against further gun crime. “The courage and bravery that Olivia’s family have shown is in direct contrast to the cowardness shown by Thomas Cashman,” said Baker, who led the murder investigation.
All of Cashman’s sentences are to be served concurrently. After he has served the minimum term, he will only be released should the Parole Board decide.
You can read the full report here:
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“Today’s sentence will never bring Olivia back,” Merseyside Police’s detective superintendent Mark Baker said welcoming the sentence outside the crown court.
“The courage and bravery that Olivia’s family have shown is in direct contrast to the cowardness shown by Thomas Cashman,” said Baker, who led the murder investigation. Baker also expressed hope that the 42-year sentence will serve as a deterrent against further gun crime.
“This has been a challenging, complex and emotional inquiry,” he added, thanking the investigation team.
Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel, has made a statement outside of the courtroom.
“Olivia was just beautiful with her long brown hair and big brown eyes,” said Cheryl, wearing a sweater bearing a photo of her daughter. “Everyone adored her, she was the baby of our family.”
“Now everything we do, and everywhere we go is a constant reminder that she is not there with us,” said Olivia’s mother. “Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief.”
Cheryl added: “We welcome the sentence given but what I can say is that our family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend our lives without Olivia.”
Thanking the public for their support, Olivia’s mother asked for time and space to “process what has happened” over the past few months.
Olivia’s aunt, Louise Pratt spoke on behalf of the family outside the Manchester crown court alongside Oliva’s dad, John.
“We are happy with the outcome but we will not be celebrating as nothing will fill the gap left in our lives following the loss of Olivia,” she said, thanking the jury, police who assisted with the investigation and the anonymous witness who provided evidence.
“Olivia Pratt-Korbel died a scared nine-year-old and we hope Cashman is haunted by this knowledge for the rest of his life,” said Louise.
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The court hearing has now ended. We are awaiting further statements from Olivia’s family outside of the court room shortly.
For the murder of Olivia, Cashman has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 42 years.
For the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, Cashman has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 22 years. For wounding Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, Cashman received a further 10 years imprisonment.
For the remaining two firearms offences, Cashman was sentenced to 18 years for each.
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Thomas Cashman sentenced to life in prison with minimum term of 42 years
Thomas Cashman has been sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Justice Yip said all sentences are to be served concurrently. After Cashman has served the minimum term, he will only be released should the parole board decide.
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“The defendant is now aged 34, he is not of previous good character,” said Justice Yip.
“He made it quite clear that he was a criminal who used threats and violence when it suited him”. She said there is no mitigation to be found in his history.
Justice Yip said she did not agree Olivia’s age made her more vulnerable. “The real gravity of this case is that a young child was shot and killed in her own home,” she added.
While there was no intent to kill Olivia, she said the fatal shot was fired with the intent to kill. Justice Yip has determined the shooting was premeditated.
Justice Yip said she concluded the planning and premeditation was not “directed at the child”. She said the seriousness of the murder and other offences, is particularly grave, requiring a lengthy term.
“The evidence, in this case, demonstrates planning going well beyond that,” said Justice Yip, adding the defendant knew which van Joseph Nee was driving, and upon seeing the van again, changed his clothes and got into position.
“This was a targeted, planned, execution attempt,” she said.
Judge begins sentencing by saying murder of Olivia must get mandatory life sentence
“For the murder of Olivia, there is only one sentence that can be passed, that is a mandatory life sentence,” said Justice Yip.
“The sentence will be one of life imprisonment,” she said. “However for reasons I shall explain this is not a case which requires a whole life order.”
Justice Yip described the incident as one that not only shocked Liverpool, but the nation. She said Cashman was focused only on the murder of Joseph Nee and no one else “mattered to him”.
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Cashman’s defence is now speaking before the court presenting its mitigation arguments.
Regarding premeditation and planning, which cuts across all five counts before the court, Cashman’s barrister, John Cooper KC, said:
There is no evidence in this case of any form of communication pre-planning or arrangements that could lend itself to the submission that there was substantial planning or premeditation.
Justice Yip has risen briefly, she said, to finalise her remarks.
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Cheryl Korbel: 'I just miss hearing her voice, it's just so quiet'
Cheryl Korbel, Olivia’s mother, is reading her personal statement before the court.
“One thing I miss most is hearing her say ‘mum’, I just miss hearing her voice, it’s just so quiet,” she said tearfully. “It’s so very lonely without her, everything is just so quiet, I can’t cope with the silence.”
“This happened in our home where we felt safe and should have felt safe,” she added. “It’s so hard to go back to the area where I grew up and raised all my three children.”
“His actions have left the biggest holes in our lives,” Cheryl said tearfully of Cashman’s actions, recalling how he continued to shoot as Olivia’s cries were heard. “I cannot even think of rebuilding our lives without her.”
“Now I have to drive to the cemetery to be close to my daughter,” she said. “We love you endless amounts”.
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Olivia's sister tells court family 'living in a real-life tragedy'
Olivia’s older sister, Chloe, read her personal statement before the court.
“It was the best present I ever received,” she recalled of her sister’s birth five days after her own birthday. “I just loved her so much.”
“My family and I are living in a real-life tragedy,” said Chloe, “and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”
Tearfully, she added: “I miss Olivia, I miss my baby sister, and I miss my best friend.”
“I grieve for what we will never get to do together.”
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Victim statement from Olivia's father says: 'We will never be a whole family again'
A personal statement from Olivia’s father, John Francis Pratt, is being read before the court.
“No words can truly make you understand the pain I am feeling at the loss of my beautiful daughter Olivia,” the statement said.
“You have changed my life and my family’s life forever,” said the statement, addressing Cashman who is not present in court. “We will never be a whole family again”.
In the statement, Francis Pratt recalled seeing his daughter, Olivia for the first time in August of 2022, just before her death.
“I am heartbroken, sometimes I just want to end it so I can be with Olivia again,” the statement said. “I don’t know how I will cope.”
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Thomas Cashman will not appear in the court for sentencing
Thomas Cashman has not appeared in the dock. His barrister, speaking in the courtroom said he Cashman won’t be appearing.
Mrs Justice Yip will sentence in his absence.
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In the aftermath of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, police issued a stark warning about the increasingly deadly weapons circulating on Britain’s streets.
Gangs in Merseyside are using battlefield submachine guns capable of firing 850 rounds a minute to target each other, and it will not be long before such weapons are as common in other areas, officers have warned.
DCS Mark Kameen, the lead investigator on the Olivia Pratt-Korbel case, said Czech-manufactured Skorpion machine pistols were increasingly being used by criminals.
Kameen said:
If you start bringing that sort of battlefield military weaponry into communities and discharging it … You add that to the chaotic nature, lack of training, no moral compass, that’s where you get now the last three times a Skorpion has been used in Merseyside someone’s been killed every single time. Is it any wonder when this gun’s firing 12 or 13 rounds in less than a second?
Merseyside police have seized seven guns since the beginning of the year, including a Skorpion.
Nine-year-old Olivia was not killed by a Skorpion – she was shot with a revolver that was never recovered – but three other people gunned down in Liverpool last year were. Like Olivia, at least two of these were not the intended target of the gunman.
Read more from our story from last Thursday here:
Sentencing hearing to start shortly
The sentencing hearing will start shortly at Manchester crown court.
First, the court will hear submissions from the prosecution on sentencing guidelines, followed by any mitigation from Cashman’s defence.
The trial was due to take place in Merseyside, but was moved to Manchester because Cashman felt he would not get a fair hearing in Liverpool, where tensions ran high after the killing.
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When nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot by a masked gunman who burst into her home on 22 August last year, people in Liverpool feared history was repeating itself.
Fifteen years to the day previously an innocent child had been caught in the crossfire. Eleven-year-old Rhys Jones, walking home from football practice, was gunned down.
The community once again felt brutalised as details of the crime emerged. The gunman and Joseph Nee, the man he was chasing, were strangers to Olivia and her mother, Cheryl Korbel, who had opened the front door that night after hearing noises on the street. Korbel was shot through the hand with the same bullet that killed her daughter. For the funeral, four family members carried Olivia to the local church in Dovecot in a small pink coffin.
Unlike in the Rhys Jones case, where for almost a year police knew who was responsible but could not summon the evidence despite months of agonising family appeals, someone did come forward.
The Crown Prosecution Service managed to produce a star witness, a woman whose house Thomas Cashman fled to after the killing. The witness, who has lifetime anonymity, is understood to have faced more threats than any other witness Merseyside police have dealt with.
She is a former lover of Cashman, from the same area, and someone he trusted. She told the court how he turned up after shooting Olivia, asking for a change of clothes and saying something to the effect of: “I’ve done Joey.”
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Thomas Cashman is facing life in prison after being found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a shooting that repulsed Britain.
Last week, Cashman, 34, was convicted of killing the “unique, chatty” little girl who had been getting ready to go to bed when he burst into her family home in Liverpool last August.
Read more on the verdict from last Thursday here:
Hello and welcome to our live blog covering the sentencing of Thomas Cashman, who faces life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years after being found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a shooting that repulsed Britain.
Cashman, 34, was convicted of killing the “unique, chatty” little girl who had been getting ready to go to bed when he burst into her family home in Liverpool last August.
In 2022, Olivia was standing behind her mother when Cashman opened fire while chasing Joseph 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 mother, Cheryl Korbel.
Cashman sobbed in the dock as he was also found guilty of attempting to murder Nee, wounding Korbel with intent by shooting her through the hand, and two counts of possessing firearms. Last week, the jury deliberated for around nine hours.
Today’s sentencing at Manchester crown court begins at 2 pm.
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