The intended target in the senseless shooting of Olivia Pratt-Korbel is no stranger to the criminal underworld - a convicted drug dealer who had been shot before.
Joseph Nee, 35, ran towards Olivia's home after he was shot in the midriff by Thomas Cashman last August.
Cashman, 34, was today found guilty of murdering Olivia and injuring her mum Cheryl Korbel, 46, after chasing Nee into their home in Dovecot, Liverpool, last August 22.
As well as murdering Olivia and wounding Cheryl Korbel with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, he was convicted of the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, 36, possessing a 9mm self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life and guilty of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life.
Cashman's associate Paul Russell was convicted of assisting an offender and will be sentenced on Monday alongside the killer.
Jurors heard how Nee had begged "please don't" as the gunman tried to finish him off, while he was fortunate the initial weapon used appeared to misfire, leading to the shooter to draw a second weapon as he continued the pursuit.
Within a matter of minutes, Olivia's mum had been shot through the hand trying to shut the front door to protect her family from the immediate threat Nee brought to her doorstep. A bullet went through the door and hit the nine-year-old in the chest, killing her.
Nee fled the home and was picked up by friends, leaving Olivia's family and neighbours to deal with the chaos before police arrived 10 minutes later.
Nee's friends brought him to the hospital.
He was handcuffed to his bedside for breaching the terms of his licence after being released from prison.
As the community tried to make sense of Olivia's death, Nee was refusing to cooperate with the police, it was reported at the time.
A source told The Sun: “He’s not being very helpful and not very happy at the idea of going back to prison.”
However, in a supreme irony it appeared Nee's relatives had shown regret that his targeting for murder had led to the death of Olivia.
One of the floral tributes left for little Olivia appeared to be from Nee's family.
The handwritten note was placed at the scene of the killing and was signed by the 'Nee family'.
It read: "So sorry for your loss of beautiful Olivia. Rest in peace, thinking of all."
Over the course of the trial, jurors were told how Nee and his family "had their enemies" at the time of Olivia's shooting.
David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, said: “As of August 22, 2022, Joseph Nee and members of his immediate family had their enemies.”
In a ruling which could not be reported until the conclusion of the trial, Mrs Justice Yip responded to legal arguments made at Manchester Crown Court during private sessions in which the defendant’s legal team set out evidence they wanted to elicit in the case.
This included that there was a “background of hostility” between Nee's family and another family, the Hickmans, and that Nee had been shot at two weeks before the incident in which Olivia was killed.
The same self-loading pistol which was used by the gunman who killed Olivia was fired at Nee in the earlier incident on August 8, police said.
The court heard that in interviews, Nee gave differing accounts, initially saying he did not think the Hickmans were responsible but later telling police he had a “little falling out” with Lee Hickman and speculating that they could have been involved.
The prosecution set out reasons why four members of the Hickman family could be eliminated from inquiries, including that two of them were in prison at the time.
Another was in a pub making a phone call at the time of the shooting, according to CCTV and telephone evidence, the court heard.
In her ruling, Mrs Justice Yip said Lee Hickman had been interviewed under caution and gave an alibi which had been corroborated.
The defence sought to elicit further material supporting a feud between the two families, including a fight in prison involving two of them and an alleged “straightener” in a pub.
There was insufficient evidence Cashman was involved in the shooting on August 8 but he had not been eliminated by police, the court heard.
The incident happened at 9.40pm in Finch Way, Dovecot – close to Olivia’s home – when two rival groups, one in a car and the other on motorcycles, fired shots indiscriminately while near some playing fields.
The jury were also told that Nee had been shot by someone before in March 2018 though there was no suggestion Cashman was involved.
Jurors were also told Nee had convictions for conspiracy to supply controlled drugs, possession with intent to supply controlled drugs, possession of controlled drugs, burglary and theft, aggravated vehicle taking, theft of or from vehicles, associated motoring offences and a public order offence.
Nee was jailed in 2018 for 45 months after admitting two counts of burglary, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving whilst disqualified.
He and two other men had led police on a high-speed chase before they were captured.
Nee was freed from prison on licence in 2021 where he was automatically released part-way through a fixed jail term.
During the trial, Cashman was asked about his relationship with Nee.
Of the Nee family, he said: “They’re all my friends. They have been for the past 10 years.”
He added: “We just live in the same area. We got to know each other through living in the same area as each other.”
When asked if he ever had any issues with the Nees, he told jurors: “No, I never had problems with the Nee family ever. They’ve always been my friends.”
