A key witness in the trial of Thomas Cashman tearfully told a jury "I can't forgive anyone who has hurt a child".
The 34-year-old, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, is currently standing trial accused of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel. The schoolgirl was shot dead in her own home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot on the evening of August 22 last year.
A woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been giving evidence to jurors at Manchester Crown Court over the past two days. She claims Cashman attended her home in the aftermath of the shooting, having allegedly woken her at her bedside.
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The witness previously stated she gave him a change of clothing and heard him tell another man at the scene, Paul Russell, that he had "done Joey" - an apparently reference to Joseph Nee, who the prosecution says was the gunman's intended target. The defendant denies this happened and any involvement in the incident.
During his questioning of the woman - who was earlier described as a "key and significant witness" - David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, said: “You are here, in essence you are giving evidence against Mr Cashman."
She replied: "It hurts me doing it. I'm not gonna lie."
Mr McLachlan then asked: "What is your reason for giving evidence against him?"
The witness, who gave her evidence from behind a screen, became tearful and responded: "Because of this little girl. I’m sorry, I can’t forgive anyone who has hurt any child.
"If he was any sort of man he’d just f****** own it. I can’t believe he’s making the family go through what they’re going through. It’s a child, it’s a child. She can never go home ever again.
"It breaks my heart. They should all be ashamed of themselves who are supporting him as well, every last one of them."
The court heard during the prosecution's opening last week that an armed man had been "relentlessly pursuing" Nee shortly before 10pm on August 22 2022 after approaching him and a man called Paul Abraham from behind and firing shots at his "target" with a 9mm self-loading pistol. Nee - who had been watching the Liverpool v Manchester United game with friends including Mr Abraham at a house on Finch Lane in Dovecot - was struck in the midriff and fell to the ground, but may have been saved when the gun appeared to "malfunction" as the gunman stood over him.
He was then able to scramble to his feet and ran towards the Korbel family home on Kingsheath Avenue, where he barged through the partially open front door. The assailant however, had a second firearm - a revolver - and continued to give chase, firing a further two shots with this weapon.
One of these shots passed through the door, struck Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel in the hand then fatally hit the youngster in the chest. The other bullet became lodged in the doorframe.
Cashman denies murdering Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against Cheryl Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The trial continues.
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