Merseyside Police’s Chief Constable said the force will continue to “hunt down” those who “enabled” the killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel after Thomas Cashman was convicted of murder.
Olivia, 9, was shot dead inside her home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot on August 22, 2022. Today, a jury at Manchester Crown Court found Cashman, 34, guilty of her murder.
Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, fired a bullet through the front door of Olivia’s home. It hit her mum, Cheryl Korbel in the hand before fatally striking Olivia in the chest.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman murder trial updates as guilty verdicts reached
The 34-year old drug dealer was chasing 36-year-old Joseph Nee, who barged through the front door of the Korbel family home while fleeing for his life.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy today welcomed the verdict and thanked those involved in bringing Cashman to justice.
She said: “I simply cannot imagine the pain they’re (Olivia’s family) going through every day. I offer my sincere condolences to Olivia’s family, but I would also like to pay tribute and pass my thanks on to the SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) Mark Baker and all of his team and the Crown Prosecution Service for all of the work that they’ve done over the past six months to make sure we brought the person responsible for Olivia’s murder, Thomas Cashman, to justice.
“I know that will never bring Olivia back, but hopefully the family will get some small comfort in knowing that the person that took their daughter away from them is now behind bars.”
At the time of the shooting, Chief Constable Kennedy said it was imperative for police to find everyone responsible for the shooting, including those who supplied the gun and those who were aware of the attack. She confirmed that investigations are ongoing in relation to the murder.
She said: “The conviction of Thomas Cashman for the murder of Olivia is a positive. But we are still hunting down those people who enabled that murder to take place. Who supplied the gun, where the gun is. We will carry on until we identify those people responsible.”
Chief Constable Kennedy also thanked the people of Merseyside for cooperating with police in the days after Olivia’s murder and acknowledged those who gave evidence during the trial. She said the response to the murder showed a change in attitude towards police from many people.
She said: “I think the communities of Merseyside should be incredibly proud of themselves in terms of their response to the murder of Olivia. The way in which people came forward, the way in which people gave evidence, I think demonstrated to the whole country the strength in the communities of Merseyside.
“I was incredibly proud of the way we stood together, as communities, as police and partners, to say we absolutely will not tolerate serious and organised crime and the use of firearms on the streets of Merseyside. We were overwhelmed with the amount of intelligence and the way in which people came forward.”
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