People across the city told of their disgust as cowardly Thomas Cashman refused to enter court to be sentenced for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Cashman refused to enter court on Monday, April 3, to face Olivia's family and hear Justice Amanda Yip hand down his prison sentence of life with a minimum of 42 years. This meant he would not hear victim personal statements read by members of Olivia's family or the words of Justice Yip.
The murderer's non-appearance in court was branded a "disgrace" by Labour's shadow justice secretary Steve Reed, who has previously called for new laws to make sure this cannot happen.
READ MORE: Love triangle and pair of Under Armour trackies proved Cashman killed Olivia
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is now under pressure to act to ensure criminals like Cashman cannot avoid appearing in court.
Mr Rabb said: “Spineless criminals like Cashman who hide from their sentencing prolong the suffering of victims and their families. As I have already made clear, I plan to change the law to compel offenders to face up to their actions, so victims can see the justice they deserve being served.”
Here the ECHO looks at the cases of Cashman and other criminals who refused to enter the dock to face up to their actions.
Thomas Cashman
Thomas Cashman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her own home in one of the most horrific crimes in Merseyside's history.
The 34-year-old, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, was unanimously found guilty of murdering the nine-year-old schoolgirl by a jury on Thursday, March 30. Cashman was due to return to court on the afternoon of April 4, but refused to appear in the dock to learn his fate.
Professor John Cooper KC, defending, said his client was "concerned the matter was turning into a circus" and claimed he had heard representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service "loudly" singing 'We are the Champions' after the verdict was delivered.
Justice Amanda Yip described his actions as "disrespectful to the family of the deceased".
Gasps were heard among Olivia's family as the sentence was passed with one man heard to say "yes", while her mum Cheryl was seen dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
Sentencing, Justice Amanda Yip said: "The killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel is an offence that shocked not only the city of Liverpool, but the nation. Olivia’s name is likely to be remembered for many years.
"She should not be remembered only for her dreadful last moments. Her family have spoken today of Olivia in life and of the hopes and dreams for her future, which were so cruelly snatched away.
"It is plain that Olivia was a lovely little girl, who cared for others and brightened the lives of her family and friends. They have suffered an unimaginable loss which they must carry for the rest of their lives."
Ryan Neave
A cowardly brute who sexually abused a woman and threatened to "cook her from the inside out" refused to appear in court for his sentencing.
Ryan Neave, aka Ryan Blundell, carried out disturbing sex attacks on his victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons. After subjecting the woman to humiliating and degrading treatment, the 39-year-old, originally from Norris Green, then issued vile threats.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this included threatening to insert heated hair straighteners into her private parts and "cook her from the inside out". Sarah Holt, prosecuting, said he committed the sex attacks, which are too graphic to publish, and slapped and kicked her.
He claimed he would "cut her up and disfigure her", or "drown her and bury her in a way that meant no one would find her body".
The "absolutely terrified" victim said he also threatened to have acid thrown in her face or her mum's face, and to petrol bomb the homes of other members of her family, if she reported him.
When arrested, Neave, of no fixed address, but formerly of Beversbrook Road, Norris Green, denied any wrongdoing and claimed his victim was a liar.
He maintained this claim during a trial, but was found guilty by a jury of six counts of sexual assault, two counts of witness intimidation, and two other counts, which cannot be reported for legal reasons.
Paul Becker, defending, told the court his client had refused to leave the cell where he was being held on remand in custody ahead of his sentencing.
Judge Stuart Driver, QC, said Neave was a "dangerous" offender and jailed him for 13 years, with an extended five years on licence.
Dean Lockley
A schoolgirl believed she would die when she was dragged into woodlands and sexually assaulted in an "unimaginable" ordeal.
Dean Lockley, 30, targeted the teenager as she walked home from school along the Loop Line in Aintree, near Orrell Park, at around 4pm on September 21, 2020. The dad-of-one tied and gagged his victim - using her school uniform - stripped her naked and molested her, then had the audacity to claim he was "sorry".
The coward said he was too ashamed to attend his sentencing on January 8 2021, because he didn't want to listen to his horrific crimes. He was meant to face justice the previous day but refused to leave his cell, after he was ordered to be produced at Liverpool Crown Court.
That meant his victim - in court with her mum - had to wait until January 8, when Lockley insisted on being sentenced in his absence. Nicola Daley, defending, said: "He was too ashamed to listen to what he had done again."
Addressing him in his absence, Judge David Aubrey, QC, said: "You subjected a girl to the most unimaginable and terrifying ordeal.
"You gagged her with her own socks, you put her own shorts around her mouth, you tied both her hands with her bobble behind her back. She thought she might die: this girl, alone, frightened, scared...
"What was she thinking at the time? I quote her own words. 'I was thinking I'm going to die. I was just accepting the fact I was going to die'."
Judge Aubrey said Lockley was a "dangerous" offender and jailed him for 12 years, with an extended five years on licence. Lockley was also ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Dean Pitts
Dean Pitts who "enslaved" and kidnapped a young mum stormed out of his own sentencing.
A judge slammed Pitts, who he said lacked the "courage" to face up to his crimes.
A defence lawyer said Pitts didn't wish to attend, because he found it too "upsetting" to listen to what he did to his girlfriend. Judge Swinnerton ordered the 27-year-old to leave a waiting room at HMP Altcourse and appear on a video link on February 11, 2021.
However, after complaining "I can't listen to this" Pitts left the video booth and was sentenced in his absence. Pitts, aka Dean Mansfield, was "extremely controlling" and violent to his partner from May to November 2020.
He punched her, broke her iron, attacked her dad when he intervened and broke his phone, then later kidnapped her. On November 23 she fled into a shop, but he twice dragged her out and forced her into her car, then drove off.
During the incident he punched a passer-by who tried to help his victim and kicked a shopkeeper. Pitts, of no fixed address but from Warrington, admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, kidnap, assault causing actual bodily harm, three counts of common assault and two counts of criminal damage.
He also admitted burglary, over an incident when he stole seven shotguns from a firearms store in 2019. Pitts was jailed for five years and 10 months.
READ NEXT:
First look inside former Beehive pub after major rebrand
The 24 most wanted men in the UK as police issue 'do not approach' warning
Social care worker had 'relationship' with teenage boy in her care
Woman's windows rattled after hearing 'two explosions' from home
Killer who tried to burn cousin's body appeals murder conviction seven years later
