The gunshot which killed schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel was Thomas Cashman's second attempt to assassinate a convicted burglar and drug dealer in a matter of hours. Joseph Nee was the intended target for Cashman, who was jailed for life this week following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The 34-year-old had attempted to kill Nee when he instead struck nine-year-old Olivia in her home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year. But another attempt to assassinate Nee earlier that day was foiled when Cashman's target visited a Screwfix store, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The trial heard how Cashman, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, spent much of that day patrolling the area around nearby Finch Lane. On that afternoon, Cashman spotted Nee's Volkswagen Transporter van parked up on the street.
