Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s great-grandmother died the night before the nine-year-old's killer was sentenced, in fresh heartbreak for the family.
The 92-year-old had lived long enough to hear drug dealing gunman Thomas Cashman, 34, was found guilty of Olivia’s murder.
But Cheryl Korbel, Olivia’s mother, revealed she had died before yesterday’s sentencing, in which Cashman was sentenced to life behind bars, with a minimum of 42 years.
Ms Korbel told Manchester Crown Court her grandmother, who “adored Liv and Liv her”, had recently been in hospital and a couple of weeks ago had been taken home for end-of-life care.
She said she had not been able to spend “enough quality time” with her because her main focus had been on the trial.
She said: “Sadly, my nan passed away last night.”
She added the 92-year-old had “held out long enough to hear the coward had been found guilty”.
Olivia’s older sister Chloe Korbel, 18, told the court: “Not only did I lose my baby sister but I lost my best friend.
“When I was told she passed away, I felt as though my heart had stopped beating.
“A piece of me left with her that night and since then I have felt as though I am in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”
In a statement read to the court, Olivia’s father John Francis Pratt asked Cashman, who was not in court to hear the question: “What gives you the right to think you can shoot into what should have been a safe place for Olivia that evening?
“We will never be a whole family again and you did that to us.”
Cashman, 34, was found guilty last week of murdering the nine-year-old and wounding Cheryl, 46, as he chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee into their home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool on August 22 last year.
Gasps were heard from the public gallery as the sentence was announced and Cheryl and other members of Olivia's family were seen crying.
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Olivia’s mother Cheryl 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."
Cashman also received life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years for the attempted murder of drug dealer Joseph Nee.
For wounding Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, he received 10 years.
