Thomas Cashman was a man who enjoyed splashing his ill gotten gains and had a reputation for wearing luxury brands.
The idiocy of the shocking lengths he was willing to go to to keep himself decked out in Moncler, Alexander McQueen and Monterrain were made clear after one of the most atrocious crimes in Merseyside’s history.
In Manchester Crown Court today, the remorseless gangland killer offered the final, pathetic insult to the family of Olivia Pratt-Korbel by refusing to appear in the dock to hear his sentence for her murder.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman sentencing updates as Olivia Pratt-Korbel killer jailed for life
He will now have at least 42 years behind bars to think about how his empty lifestyle led to the point he was willing to blindly pump bullets into a family home, in a desperate bid to finish off a fellow criminal.
Olivia died on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, on August 22 last year when one of Cashman’s shots passed through the front door, through her mum Cheryl Korbel’s wrist and into her chest.
Cashman, 34, had been chasing convicted drug dealer and burglar Joseph Nee, who barged inside while fleeing for his life. Merseyside Police say they have no clear evidence of why Cashman wanted Nee dead, but in the end the motive was not needed to prove Cashman had pulled the trigger.
Exactly how highly Cashman ranked in the criminal hierarchy is up for debate - indeed he was obviously willing to get his hands dirty - but there is no doubt he was operating at a higher level than an average street level dealer.
Many believe he was more of an “enforcer”, or even an out-and-out contract killer, than simply a man who sold drugs. But we know Cashman was enjoying the trappings of a decent income despite being officially unemployed.
Cashman and his partner, Kayleeanne Sweeney, lived in a smart detached house in The Point estate in West Derby. In perhaps a nod to Cashman’s criminal connections, the pair did not own the £280,000 property - it was rented from its owner, gang boss Christopher Gibney, who is on the run accused of leading a £186m cocaine and heroin conspiracy.
According to Cashman’s evidence in court he earned up to £260,000 per year selling kilos of cannabis to a “few friends” in the local area. He told the jury he was “not a bad drug dealer” and did not sell Class A drugs.
However the ECHO has spoken to a former customer of Cashman, who claimed to have bought cocaine from him personally around eight times, and from his associates on other occasions.
The key witness in the case, a woman who had a “fling” with Cashman, described his love of designer clothing. She told the police in her interview: “I never see Tommy wearing Under Armour. He always looks smart Tommy.
“He had like Alexander McQueen, do you know what I mean? Moncler trainers. He was always dressed nice.”
She also described how Cashman “was a generous lad” and would buy “food from the butchers” to hand out during the covid pandemic.
But when she was questioned by John Cooper, KC, defending Cashman, who suggested her partner Paul Russell owed Cashman £25,000, she replied: “Wow. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Tommy Cashman never dealt with stuff like that, that was too poxy for him. You’re making me laugh.”
Cashman himself described how he had access to at least two more properties, flats in Huyton and Runcorn, as well as the home he shared with Ms Sweeney and their two children in West Derby.
Ms Sweeney herself drove a top of the range Land Rover Discovery Sport and ran a local beauty salon, which filed for voluntary liquidation shortly before Cashman was charged with murder.
To protect that lifestyle, Cashman was prepared to go to chilling lengths. As judge Mrs Justice Yip said in her sentencing remarks: “He made it quite clear that he was a criminal who used threats and violence when it suited him.”
She added: “The real gravity of this case is that a young child was shot and killed in her own home. As children do, Olivia was coming downstairs to seek reassurance. Cheryl Korbel should have been able to give that reassurance and tuck Olivia back into bed. What happened instead was chilling and strikes fear not only into the immediate community but also into the minds of other children and their parents.
“Shooting into a family home with no regard for who may be caught in the crossfire is obviously a very significant aggravating factor which must be reflected in the minimum term.”
Those trappings of luxury will seem an unimaginable distance away as Cashman begins his life sentence.
No Moncler, no Alexander McQueen, no Monterrain. No fancy restaurants, no luxury cars, no holidays to Ibiza or Marbella.
Speaking outside court, Olivia’s auntie, Louise Pratt, speaking on behalf of her dad John Pratt’s side of the family, said: “We would like to say Olivia Pratt Korbel died a scared nine-year-old, and we hope Cashman is haunted by this knowledge for the rest of his life.”
The small crumb of comfort for the Korbel and Pratt families is that very little of that life will be spent as a free man. But as Cheryl said outside court today: “We have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Olivia.”
READ NEXT:
Thomas Cashman jailed for life with minimum term of 42 years for Olivia's murder
Thomas Cashman continued shooting even after hearing 'terrifying screams'
Armed police surround road as Thomas Cashman arrives in court ahead of sentencing
Olivia Pratt-Korbel's kind and caring nature shown by selfless act she was planning
'All I want is my baby back': Olivia Pratt-Korbel's dad's heartbreaking words as killer sentenced
