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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alahna Kindred

Thomas Cashman CCTV from 15 minutes of hell ending in shooting death of Olivia, 9

It took just around 15 minutes of sickening gun violence for a family's life to be torn apart with the death of little Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

Thomas Cashman, 34, was unanimously found guilty of shooting the schoolgirl dead and injuring her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, after chasing convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, into their home last August.

Little Olivia's death shocked the nation and after a major police investigation Cashman stood trial over four weeks at Manchester Crown Court.

Along with Olivia's murder, today he was convicted of the attempted murder of Nee, wounding Cheryl with intent to cause GBH and possessing two handguns with intent to endanger life. Cashman's associate Paul Russell was convicted of assisting an offender.

During the trial, the jury heard of the little girl's final moments and how the family's home erupted into chaos after Nee barrelled into their home fleeing the gunman.

Below we look at moments that ripped a family apart and devastated a community last August 22.

Shortly before 10pm

Earlier in the day, the jury was shown clips of the defendant driving or walking by an address in Dovecot, Liverpool, at least a dozen times.

Inside the property in Finch Lane, Joseph Nee had been watching the Liverpool v Manchester United game with friends including Paul Abraham.

They left the house and Abraham, 41, told the trial how he had been walking with Nee when he heard three loud bangs.

He said: “Both of us ran. One must have got Joey. He fell over. As he rolled over I just basically jumped over him and went through a gate.”

He said he saw a man walk past him with two hands outstretched, holding what he thought was a gun.

Olivia Pratt-Korbel was at home when Joseph Nee barrelled his way into the house (PA)
Olivia Pratt-Korbel's family have recalled those agonising minutes when she was shot (PA)

He said: “As I was going up the entry he (Nee) was saying ‘please don’t’, I heard him shouting ‘please, don’t’.”

Mr Abraham said he thought he heard two further bangs as he jumped over fences of back gardens to get away.

He said: “I was just running for my life basically.”

Nee was struck in the midriff and fell to the ground, but as the gunman's weapon appeared to "malfunction" he scrambled to his feet and ran towards Olivia's family home on Kingsheath Avenue.

The assailant, however, had a second firearm - a revolver - and continued to give chase, firing a further two shots with this weapon.

The jury at Manchester Crown Court was shown CCTV of the gunman chasing Nee and firing three shots in the street on Kingsheath Avenue just before 10pm.

Cheryl goes outside

Cheryl Korbel, Olivia's mum, outside at Manchester Crown Court (PA)
Olivia Pratt-Korbel died in hospital shortly after she was shot (PA)

Olivia's mum Cheryl Korbel, 46, was home at the time with her three children and neighbours when she heard a noise and went outside.

After she went out, Nee ran towards Cheryl and her home, gunman in pursuit, the court heard.

David McLachlan, KC, said: “Cheryl Korbel then realised, pretty quickly, the gravity of the situation that she now faced and she turned in a panic, and ran back towards her house.”

Nee makes his way to the house

Cheryl tried to close her door but it didn’t shut fully, the jury was told, and Nee ran up to the Korbels’ home and began banging on the door shouting “help me”.

Cheryl tried to close her door but it did not close fully, the jury was told.

Mr McLachlan said Cheryl had said she was screaming at Nee to “go away”.

Joseph Nee was the intended target (PA)
Thomas Cashman in court on March 6 (PA)

One neighbour recalled seeing the gunman charge the door and managing "in some way" to get inside, at which point she heard gunfire.

The jury was shown a recorded police interview with Cheryl recalling that harrowing evening, with her saying: "I was just screaming to go away and then I heard the gunshot and realised, I felt it. It hit my hand."

Olivia comes down the stairs

Olivia's brother Ryan said he went to the landing and saw Olivia four or five steps up from the bottom of the staircase, a man lying on the floor and his mother "wrestling" with the door.

Recalling the moments before Olivia got shot, he said: "The next thing I heard was footsteps across the landing. It was Olivia, she was running downstairs screaming: 'Mum, I'm scared'."

A police officer asked Ryan if he knew what Olivia was scared of.

He said: "No, she literally said 'I'm scared mummy, I'm scared'. Then I heard her footsteps. Downstairs she said it another two times 'I'm scared, I'm scared' and then everything else just kicked off."

Moment Olivia is shot

Ryan said he saw a man’s arm come around the door, holding a gun. Cheryl heard Nee say “please lad don’t” before a further shot was heard.

One bullet passed through the door, and mum Cheryl’s hand, and struck Olivia in the chest, fatally wounding the nine-year-old.

After the gunshots, Cheryl was heard shouting "get the f*** out" at Nee, who was telling her to call the police.

Cheryl previously said: "I remember when I turned around and realised the baby was right behind me because she’d come obviously down the stairs cause she’d heard.”

Olivia’s older sister Chloe then heard her mum screaming "Livia had been hit".

Cheryl raced over to her daughter and said: "Stay with me baby" as Ryan shouted for Nee, who was slumped in the hallway, to leave.

Gunman flees at 10.02pm

The court heard after the shooting, the gunman was next seen on Finch Lane at 10.02pm when he ran between two houses.

Police investigator Caleb Suggitt told the court: “That person runs from Finch Lane onto Berryford Road and then we see that person on Standedge Way.

“We don’t see that person return from Standedge Way, nor do we see them enter Berryford Road, therefore we know that person has garden-hopped from Standedge Way to Princess Drive.

At 10.06pm the man, dressed in black with reflective markings on his trousers, walked across Princess Drive.

Police released this image of a Glock 9mm pistol (PA)

Nee leaves the family home

The court heard how Nee was sat on the doorstep of Olivia's home and then went outside, followed by Ryan who was "screaming abuse" at him.

But at this point, he didn't know Olivia had been shot as Nee collapsed in the road and was picked up by two men in an SUV.

Another neighbour saw Nee collapse in the middle of the road after “stumbling out” the home and making a desperate phone call.

Moment Olivia's mum knew she was dead

In her police interview Cheryl said she thought she heard Olivia scream “Mum!” and turned round to see her sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

Telling how she rushed to shield her daughter, she said: “I leant over her and held her to the left, I just huddled over. There was blood everywhere.”

The mum told detectives she initially thought the blood was her own, but then: “I lifted her top and that’s when I knew she’d been shot in the chest.

Flowers left near to the scene of a shooting in Knotty Ash, Liverpool (PA)

“She was gasping for breath and I was screaming at her to stay with me.”

Her son Ryan helped her carry Olivia up the stairs and the mum called for towels to try to stop the bleeding.

She said: “I heard the lad downstairs shouting, ‘Please lad, don’t’ and I heard another gunshot. I couldn’t keep her awake.”

She added: “She went all floppy and her eyes went to the back of her head.”

Speaking through tears about how she tried to save her, she added: “I knew she’d gone”.

Police arrive at 10.10

After his confrontation with Nee, Ryan told the police: "My mum put Liv in my arms and told me to keep pressure on her chest. I didn't know why until I lifted her pyjama top up and seen a hole."

He said a neighbour came in and gave CPR to Olivia.

"Her lips had gone blue, she wasn't even bleeding out the gunshot wound," he said.

"I knew it was over."

PC Metcalf carried little Olivia out the house and took her “straight to hospital” and recalled feeling the faint beating of her heart.

He added the schoolgirl's lips were blue and she was taken to the nearby Alder Hey Children’s Hospital where she was declared dead shortly before 11.30pm.

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