Olivia Pratt-Korbel 's mum couldn't hide her happiness - and at the same time, the bullet scar on her hand - as she celebrated outside outside court after her little' girl's killer was convicted of murder.
Drug dealer Thomas Cashman, 34, was found guilty of fatally shooting the nine-year-old while firing wildly from two handguns as he chased his target, fellow criminal Joseph Nee, who randomly tried to escape through the house where Olivia lived with her family.
In the chaos of the pursuit Cashman fired a bullet which passed through Olivia's mum's hand as she tried to shut the door of their home in Dovecot, Liverpool - and into her daughter's chest.
While Cheryl Korbel survived despite bleeding heavily from being shot through the hand, little Olivia died from her wound within minutes of the shooting in Dovecot, Liverpool on August 22 last year.
Cashman pleaded not guilty and put the family through an agonising trial that lasted nearly four weeks.
But after deliberating for eight hours, the jury of 10 men and two women found him guilty after listening to evidence for nearly four weeks.
Cheryl, who was wearing a pink cardigan and holding a teddy bear, sat with her children Chloe and Ryan in the court. Her family was seen crying when the verdicts were read out.
Outside the court, she told reporters she was feeling “ecstatic” as she left the court.
She also raised a pink teddy bear into the air and shouted “yes!”
A small scar on her right hand was seen, a permanent reminder of the night of senseless violence that ripped her family apart.
Cashman was found guilty of the murder of Olivia, guilty of the attempted murder of Nee, guilty of wounding Cheryl with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, guilty of possessing a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life and guilty of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life.
Cashman's associate Paul Russell was also convicted of assisting an offender and will be sentenced on Monday alongside the killer.
Cheryl had described “huddling over” Olivia after being unable to stop Nee bursting into the family home, during the mayhem which saw her struck in the hand by the same bullet that killed little Olivia.
During the trial the jury heard that as well as losing her daughter, Cheryl thought she was going to die herself after the attack.
She recalled how the first time she was aware Olivia was hurt was when “I heard the baby screaming”.
She rushed to her daughter's side, but heartbreakingly told the court: “I couldn’t keep her awake.
“I realised she must have been hit, because I didn’t know until then and I lifted her top up. The bullet got her right in the middle of the chest.”
Following Cashman's conviction, senior crown prosecutor Maria Corr, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “This has been a truly tragic case and one of the most complex I have had to deal with in my 32 years with the Crown Prosecution Service.
“At the heart of it is a nine-year-old girl who has lost her life. Olivia Pratt-Korbel was in her own home, with her family, where she should have been safe.
“By contrast, Thomas Cashman is a ruthless criminal who recklessly pursued another man, with no consideration of the consequences. He was intent on violence that night, arming himself with two loaded guns.
“He refused to display any guilt or remorse, denying his involvement throughout and putting Olivia’s family through the torment of a lengthy trial.”
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, speaking after Cashman was found guilty, said: “The Prime Minister’s thoughts remain with the family and friends of Olivia during what must be an incredibly difficult time.”
Merseyside police and crime commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “I can’t even begin to imagine the pain that Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s family and loved ones have been through in the past seven months.
“There is no justice that can bring Olivia back, and the last three weeks of the trial and Cashman’s refusal to admit his crimes must only have compounded their unthinkable suffering.
“Today’s guilty verdict will not bring their unique, chatty, beautiful little girl back and sadly it will not end their heartache, but at least they know he is off the streets and facing a life sentence for his cowardly and despicable actions.”
She paid tribute to the force and thanked the community, adding: “This senseless murder devastated our city. Sadly, it showed there is still a contemptible minority, an underbelly of our society, who have no morals and no care for anyone but themselves and their own greed.
“It is vital that we unite to make it clear they will never be welcome in our proud, caring, compassionate region.”
