Grieving Cheryl Korbel today vows to fight the gun and gang culture that led to her daughter Olivia’s murder.
She wants to steer children away from crime and is campaigning for a law forcing offenders to attend sentencing, after her daughter’s killer refused to appear in court.
Bravely speaking for the first time since Thomas Cashman was jailed, Cheryl reveals plans for a memorial garden for little Olivia, nine. She says: “I want violence to stop.”
Heartbroken Cheryl Korbel today spells out her vision to curb gang and gun violence and reveals a memorial garden tribute to her murdered daughter Olivia.
Brave Cheryl wants to unite police, charities and the community in a drive to steer youngsters from crime.
The focal point will be the memorial to Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her own home.
On the day the nine-year-old should have been enjoying an Easter egg hunt at home, Cheryl says she wants to create a safe space for children to play and learn to stop them from “going down the wrong path”.
She hopes a patch of land where Liv and pals played blissfully can be a peaceful, safe haven for youngsters.
A fundraising campaign to pay for the memorial is under way.
Speaking for the first time since her daughter’s killer was jailed, Cheryl says: “This garden will be in memory of Liv and somewhere for the kids to get together and be safe.
“I want the guns to come off the streets and the violence to lessen, if not stop all together.
“We need to get rid of the gangs. Police, communities and charities need to get involved with kids more. We need to give kids opportunities.”
In an exclusive interview, Cheryl also says:
- She wants a new law forcing criminals to show up for sentencing – after Olivia’s killer Thomas Cashman refused to attend court last Monday.
- She brands gun-for-hire and drug dealer Cashman “a coward” – and fears he will still pull strings in the crime world from behind bars.
- Olivia loved TikTok and dreamed of being one of its stars.
- She treasures memories of a Toby Carvery visit with her daughter just hours before the murder.
Cheryl, 46, also shares unseen snaps of happy times with Olivia.
And she takes us to the special spot which has become a shrine to Olivia – and where she used to watch her daughter play with friends.
Kneeling beside flowers, balloons and a sign hailing “Olivia’s Tree”, Cheryl says: “We used to live just 10 houses up the road and we would walk past here every day.
“Liv used to play on the grass, that’s why it has a special meaning to me.
“She used to come down here on the weekends. She and her friends would jump around, run riot and play football.”
Cheryl has moved out of the nearby family home in Dovecot, Liverpool – haunted by the memory of Olivia’s murder on August 22 last year.
She longs to visit the memorial garden, vowing: “I’ll bring a sunflower. It was one of Liv’s favourite flowers because it was so bright and big. I’d like to sit on a bench and just reflect on what we had and what we don’t have any more. What I should be doing with Liv, I’ll now have to do with my nieces.”
Olivia died when Cashman fired at fellow criminal Joseph Nee, who had forced his way into the home during a chase. A bullet passed through Cheryl’s hand and hit Olivia’s chest. Keen not to dwell on that night, Cheryl instead reflects fondly on the meal she enjoyed with her daughter just hours earlier.
She says: “We went to the Toby Carvery in Queens Drive for tea.
“I went with my best friend and her daughter, who was Liv’s best friend. We had a really good time – the kids were sitting there laughing and joking. We had a roast but Liv was very picky, she didn’t eat meat. She’d have potatoes, carrots and turnips.
“We were planning days out but we’ve not been able to do any of it.”
Cashman, 34, was found guilty of murdering Olivia, attempting to murder Nee, and wounding Cheryl.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 42 years at Manchester Crown Court – but refused to leave his cell to hear his sentence. Labour leader Keir Starmer is among key figures demanding a law compelling killers to be in court. Cheryl says: “I’d support a law that would force criminals to show up for sentencing.
“We were dragged right through that court case when we didn’t need to be. If he’d owned it from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to be there. He was in that dock right through the trial and on the last day he said ‘I’m not going up’. It’s not fair.
“Why should we go through all that and then he gets the option of not being there? It’s like a kick in the teeth. He’s just a coward – and that’s being polite. I’ve got some slight comfort from him being behind bars. But he’s still got a roof over his head, three square meals, access to gyms and this, that and the other.”
Cheryl’s bid to bring peace to the streets of Liverpool comes after a string of tragedies linked to gang wars. Olivia’s death came in a seven-day period which saw two other gun murders – followed by yet more killings in October and December.
And Rhys Jones, 11, died in 2007 on the same date as Olivia – August 22 – after being caught in the crossfire on his way home.
Now Cheryl hopes community hubs like Dovecot Labour Club and the planned memorial garden can help keep kids on the straight and narrow.
The Labour Club is facing closure, but residents hope to raise £300,000 to buy it and pay for renovations.
Local Labour MP Ian Byrne says: “We want to build the memorial garden first because we can get a spade in the ground within weeks.
“The community hub is the second stage. The memorial garden will be a safe place where families and children can go to play. And this club is like an oasis within the estate, there are not many other facilities here. You come in here and you feel at home.
“This club was built by World War II veterans. It was built by love. It’s important that it’s kept. It’s precious.”
The garden will incorporate mini traffic lanes, a roundabout and toy cars for kids as part of a wider road safety scheme – after the death of Lexi McDavid, 12, in Huyton last June.
Cheryl says of the combined facilities: “Hopefully somewhere like this Labour Club will be able to stop kids going down the wrong path.
“The garden – which will have a plaque in memory of Olivia – will also give the kids in this area somewhere to play, which they desperately need.
“I’ve also thought of having an area for bedding plants and stuff. It’s about teaching kids to look after things and apply themselves. Kids will come to the park and then tell their friends ‘ah, come down the garden – I did this’.
“I would just like to ask people to donate. This garden will be in memory of Liv and somewhere for the kids to get together and be safe.”
Cheryl has asked for games like hopscotch and snakes and ladders to be part of the design, to encourage youngsters to play together.
She recalls how much fun Liv had, saying: “Liv was a proper girly girl. She loved dancing and TikToks. She’d play on the swings and the slides. She’d have a go at climbing the trees but only get so far as she’d get scared.” Cheryl says popular and happy Liv also loved going to St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School.
She goes on: “She didn’t like doing the work but she loved seeing her friends and helping the teacher.
“She was constantly the one going down for the school register. She’d be mimicking the teachers, asking, ‘Can I write on the board?’ Putting the date on and everything.
“She just liked helping, all the time.”
Cheryl says the public’s support has helped her hugely.
She says: “It’s been amazing. I’ve had sobbing strangers stopping me in the street to give me their condolences. It shows people can come together.” Cheryl spoke as she faced her first Easter without Olivia. Usually, she would have to stop Liv eating all her chocolate for breakfast.
She says: “We’d also do little Easter egg hunts. I’d get the mini eggs, hide them around the house and in the garden and leave little notes around.
“Liv wanted to be a vet, a nurse and a doctor, all kinds of things. The main thing was she wanted to be famous.”
Tragically, evil Cashman put paid to those dreams.
But the memorial will ensure Olivia will always be remembered.
To donate to the memorial garden go to gofundme.com/f/olivia-pratt-korbel-memorial-garden
