Thomas Cashman told a jury a "key witness" in the case "ruined my life" by telling police he had turned up at her house after Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead.
The 34-year-old is giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court where he is standing trial over the nine-year-old's death on August 22 last year. Olivia died after a bullet passed through the front door of her family home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, before hitting her mum, Cheryl Korbel, in the wrist and then striking her in the chest.
The gunman had been chasing 36-year-old Joseph Nee on the street outside, who despite being shot twice managed to run and barged into the Korbel house while fleeing for his life. Cashman denies any involvement in Olivia's death or shooting Nee.
