A man has been found guilty of fatally shooting nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel as he chased a convicted drug dealer into her home in Liverpool. Thomas Cashman, 34, admitted being a "high-level" cannabis dealer but denied being the gunman in the incident, which also injured Olivia's mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, and Joseph Nee, the intended target, in Dovecot on August 22 last year.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court found him guilty of the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of Nee, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Ms Korbel, and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. During the trial, which lasted more than three weeks, the jury heard the schoolgirl ran downstairs after hearing shots outside, saying "I'm scared mummy, I'm scared".
The bullet which killed Olivia was fired through the front door, hitting Ms Korbel in the hand before striking the schoolgirl in the chest. Nee, a 36-year-old with a number of previous convictions, was injured before he ran towards the house after three shots were fired from a self-loading pistol in the street on Kingsheath Avenue.
