The trial of Thomas Cashman over the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel continued this week.
The nine-year-old was shot dead inside her own home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, on the evening of August 22 last year. A bullet fired by a gunman travelled through the front door and struck the schoolgirl's mum Cheryl Korbel in the hand, before fatally hitting the youngster in the chest.
The gunman was pursuing 36-year-old Joseph Nee, who barged into the Korbel family home while running for his life. Nee was also wounded but survived.
READ MORE: Everything heard during the first week of Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder trial
Cashman, 34, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, denies being the gunman or any involvement in the shootings. Here is a day-by-day breakdown of how the trial progressed during its second week.
Day 6 - Monday, March 13
A woman who cannot be identified for legal reasons was called to give evidence from the witness box at the start of the second week of the trial. She said she had previously had a "fling" with Cashman and claimed he had attended her home in the aftermath of the shooting.
The witness alleged she had given the defendant a change of clothing, while he had apparently told another man - Paul Russell - "I've done Joey", a supposed reference to the intended target Joseph Nee, while present there. She told John Cooper KC, defending, she and Cashman had been friends to begin with before becoming "friends with benefits".
When Mr Cooper put it to her that she wanted to "run away with him to Spain", she said he was "a million per cent wrong". The woman added Cashman "made her feel giddy" but that she "wasn't in love" with him.
She claimed she and Cashman exchanged intimate images, and that the relationship started with him coming to her house to watch TV. She said Cashman was "always at my address".
The witness later claimed to jurors she was "groomed", telling the jury: "On the first occasion it was actually amazing. On the third occasion I did have sex, it lasted about 56 seconds.
"I was not impressed, I was not impressed when he came up me. I did not want to be pregnant.
“I don’t have intense feelings. He was a good friend to me.
"I’ve had to do what I’ve had to do for a little girl. I’ve had to go through a lot of pain, a lot.
"A lot of time to think about what Tommy done and said. I feel I was groomed, I was lied to.”
Mr Cooper repeated: “Groomed?”, to which she replied: “A million percent. A million percent, I was groomed”.
The defence counsel also suggested that the witness was "excited by [Cashman] sexually" and that she was "angry, resentful and vindictive towards him". The witness replied she "was not".
The woman later told the court she was "in a very, very vulnerable state" when she first spoke to the police about the shooting. At the time, she said of her and Cashman's relationship that they had "mutual friends".
Mr Cooper asked her if this was a lie. But the woman said: "No, we wasn’t [having a relationship] at that time.
"At the time I was petrified, I was scared. I tried to hide the fact me and Tommy had a relationship.
"I didn’t want things to get out. If I say this, I’m gonna have all of this at my door. I’m petrified to mention it.”
When she was again accused of lying, the woman said: "Because I was scared, for the 20 millionth time. I’m not scared now, it’s been six months.
"I don’t think you realise what he’s done to me or that family, not one bit. I’m sorry, but it’s irrelevant questions to ask.
"I never lied to the jury. I admitted I never told them [the police] about the clothes or the relationship.”
Mr Cooper said "you didn't think we had this material", to which the witness replied: "I did know, but to be perfectly honest I couldn't care. Let's get to the good bit."
When asked what she meant by "good bit" by Mr Cooper, the woman said "the relevant bit" before adding they had "been here for like four hours now and we still haven't spoke about this little girl." When Mr Cooper again said "good bits", she responded "let's get to what happened on August 22".
After Mr Cooper repeated "good bits" for a second time, Justice Amanda Yip, interrupted to remind him "she has just answered that". The witness said: "I’ve just answered that, do as you’re told", and was then told by the judge to "take a deep breath and calm down".
Later, Mr Cooper asked the woman how she felt about Cashman during their brief relationship. The witness said: “I’ve admitted to everything.
"I admitted I was obsessed with him, I liked him a lot I lusted for him. Fire away."
Mr Cooper told her "this isn't a game you know" before the judge told him to ask his question, and the woman said: "It sounds like a game to me. You just need to do as you're told."
Justice Yip called for a short break to "cool things down". Later, the witness said: "I valued Tommy’s principles.
"I valued him as a man. He was true to his word.
"With me and him, it wasn’t like that. We didn’t have that connection when he come to see me every day.
"When he come to see me he was there for me. He’d help anyone who needed help and I’d always vouch for that for him for that."
However she added: "It would never have been able to have worked. Because of his family.
"He loved Kaylee [his partner Kayleeanne Sweeney] at the end of the day, it would never have worked. We never spoke about us being together, never."
Mr Cooper suggested the witness was "angry, resentful and vindictive towards Thomas Cashman", which she denied. He suggested she was "jealous" after finding out he had also been sleeping with another woman apart from herself and Ms Sweeney.
He highlighted a message she sent to a friend saying "I am going to ruin him like he's done to me". The witness denied she was jealous, saying: "Maybe I wanted to ruin him at the end.
"She [Ms Sweeney] had a right to know - she’s been told numerous occasions he’s been with other people. So I didn’t in the end because I knew I would be made out to be the liar and I would have had nothing but confrontation at my door from her family."
In a number of tense exchanges with Mr Cooper, which resulted in judge Mrs Justice Amanda Yip asking her to "calm down", the witness expressed frustration at being asked detailed questions about her relationship with Cashman. She said: "He’s absolutely annihilated my life, finished my life.
"I didn't know he was going to ruin my life at that point. Your client’s a liar.
"I tried to cut it off with Tommy so many times. He kept coming and coming to head f*** me.
"That poor little girl is my main concern, all I’ve spoken to the past five hours is that piece of s*** in there.
"I’ve had enough. No one’s interested in my life.
"We’re here for a tiny little girl, that’s my main concern. Let’s go on with these silly WhatsApp messages.”
Mr Cooper highlighted messages where the witness discussed setting up a "blag" email and Instagram account to send a message to Ms Sweeney about his flings with other women. He suggested: "The preparations to ruin this defendant were quite advanced weren’t they?"
The witness replied: "You’re implying I’ve ruined your client’s life. Yet I’ve ruined my life."
She added: "I am sitting here for what, because I’m angry? I’m mad?
"No. I’m sitting here for the little girl. I’ve not been asked one question about her."
During his cross-examination of the witness, Mr Cooper read out a message to the court which she sent to a "close friend and confidante" on August 21 2022. The text read: "Have been thinking I’m pregnant, my head’s been up my a***."
Mr Cooper asked her: "One day before this tragic killing, you still thought you might be pregnant by Thomas Cashman?"
She responded: "My body still felt strange and I still hadn’t came on my period."
The woman then criticised Mr Cooper for being too slow in asking his questions, telling him: "We are repeating the same things I have been asked about since 10 o’clock this morning."
Mr Cooper asked the witness if she needed a break to “collect herself”. She replied: "You need to collect yourself."
He also cited messages in which she referenced "getting tested" during his questioning, having apparently been concerned that she may have a sexually transmitted disease after Cashman had supposedly been having relations with another woman. The witness said of this: "Once I found out he’d met with that girl, she’s just a wrongun.
"I went to get a chlamydia test to find out if I had anything. I’m a very clean person.
"I don’t sleep around. That’s why I was mad.
"I’d found that out and was thinking, 'have I got something?'. I was very agitated.
"Very frustrated, we’ll say. I was just making sure I didn’t have an infection."
Mr Cooper suggested the thought that Cashman may have “infected you” made her “very angry". The woman replied: "I was more frustrated."
He read out a further message in which she stated she had to "get it out there about him and that sl**". Mr Cooper asked her: "You were very angry?"
But she denied that was the case. He then enquired whether "the plan" was to make a "fake" Instagram account in order to inform Cashman's girlfriend, to which the woman replied "yep".
Mr Cooper asked: "Angry with him, aren’t you?".
She said: "No, frustrated."
Mr Cooper also referred to a text in which she told her friend: "It’s time to ruin him like he’s done me". The witness agreed she had sent this message, saying: “I sure did, I definitely did.”
Day 7 - Tuesday, March 14
Cross-examination of the same witness continued for a second day. In a series of tense exchanges, which drew intervention from Justice Yip, the witness was asked about her financial situation at the time of the shooting.
Mr Cooper highlighted a WhatsApp message she sent to a friend which referenced her being "on the bones of my a***." She also confirmed she had been in debt for £2,500 to Riverside Housing Association for rent.
Mr Cooper suggested: "You were in severe financial difficulty?”
The witness replied: “It was just the rent, I was paying that back. I was actually stable."
Mr Cooper asked the woman if she was aware she had been described as a "key witness" by the police, which she agreed. He said: "Did you have any discussion about a reward?”
She replied: "No, we had a discussion. I think it was about a month ago.
"We mentioned it in one of the interviews. I went mad.
"We’ve risked our lives to come forward with this information, and they put that money up. We’ve jeopardised our lives.
"We’ve come and told you the information. Why would you do that?
"But it was good. They wanted to find the weapon basically, and more witnesses.
“I’ve never asked or been interested in the money. When we came forward on day two, there was not a reward at all.
"We already come forward first. There’s no way shape or form we would be entitled to the money."
Mr Cooper read from a transcript of her police interviews, which said: "You said there was a reward for £50k and then £100k. You jokingly asked Merseyside Police officers Abbey and Dave, would you be entitled to the money?"
The witness said: “No, we were having the conservation. They brought up in conversation they’re going to ask you about the money.
"It’s never been about money. We came forward day two without any reward being offered.
"We couldn’t sleep at night. We wanted to the first day, but we couldn’t trust anyone.
"If you’d done your homework, you’d have seen there was no reward put up when we were in custody. You’re incorrect.
“We have a laugh, you have no banter.
"We have a little laugh and joke. A new word you’ve learnt today, banter."
She was told to "stop it" by Justice Yip. Mr Cooper suggested the witness was "lying" about Cashman attended her house on the day of the murder, which she denied.
The woman told the jury that she came forward because she "could never forgive" someone who hurt a child. She also described the moment she was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender in the early days of the investigation.
The witness said she had been out with relatives when she heard information about police searching her house and got the train back to Liverpool. Her voice breaking, she said: "That’s when my world had come crumbling down - we got about 12, 15 police officers swooping on the train."
Under cross examination by Mr Cooper, she was asked why she had left certain details out of her initial interviews. She said: "I was petrified.
"I was getting made out as if I was assisting an offender like I had done something wrong. I’ve got woken by a guy coming into my room after doing a dreadful thing, putting my life in danger."
Mr Cooper asked: "If you’re telling the truth about being petrified, why say anything?"
The woman replied: "I weren’t gonna lie about a little girl. I was petrified to speak about Tommy.
"He’s gonna come to my address, what’s he gonna be doing to me? I was absolutely mortified I’d been put in that situation.”
Mr Cooper asked of her partner Paul Russell: "Were you aware the defendant had been supplying Paul with cannabis to sell?"
The witness responded: "No he certainly wasn’t. Hahaha.
"You’re a funny man. I’d like to know what your client’s telling you, because you haven’t got a clue."
Mr Cooper suggested Russell was "in debt" to Cashman, to which the woman responded: "He most certainly was not."
The defence counsel went further, suggesting: "Paul was in debt to Tommy Cashman the sum of about £25,000?".
The witness responded: "Wow. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
"Tommy Cashman never dealt with stuff like that, that was too poxy for him.
"You’re making me laugh. I’m enjoying myself here now."
After a short break, Mr Cooper resumed his line of questioning, putting to the witness: "One way of avoiding that debt was to get Tommy Cashman off the scene?”
She replied: "No. Tommy Cashman took himself off the scene."
The jury heard the woman was initially arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, but she told the jury she "saw herself as a victim" and was "absolutely petrified" when she was taken into custody.
She told the court: "I was petrified. I was getting made out as if I was assisting an offender like I had done something wrong.
"I’ve got woken by a guy coming into my room after doing a dreadful thing. Putting my life in danger."
However she also said she was "sitting here for the little girl". Breaking down in tears, she told the jury: "I’m sorry, I can’t forgive anyone who has hurt any child.
"If he was any sort of man he’d just f****** own it. I can’t believe he’s making the family go through what they’re going through.
"It’s a child, it’s a child. She can never go home ever again.
"It breaks my heart. They should all be ashamed of themselves who are supporting him as well, every last one of them."
Jurors were then told of Cashman's movements in the days following the shooting. On the evening of August 24 2022, he and his partner travelled to a block of flats at the Decks in Runcorn.
CCTV footage showed him holding a bag by the lifts, while his girlfriend pulled a suitcase. They left the apartments again shortly after midnight, shopping at an Asda supermarket before returning to the address.
On the morning of August 25, they headed back to the Merseyside area before once again travelling back to Runcorn. Cashman was seen on video putting his arm around Ms Sweeney's shoulders and rubbing her arm upon their return to the complex.
The couple then left once more on the afternoon of August 26, she holding a bin bag and he pulling a suitcase. Her Land Rover then travelled back to Merseyside.
On September 1, Cashman was seen on CCTV at a Tesco supermarket in Burscough with “associate” John Wynne. He bought a mobile phone and a £10 top-up card - with items including Seabrooks crisps, J20, milk and baked goods also seen in his basket at the self checkout.
The following day, the two men were seen arriving back at the Decks - an “address associated to Mr Wynne”. Cashman was then arrested at this flat at 12.55am on Sunday, September 4.
The jury was played a dramatic video of this incident, taken from officers' bodyworn cameras. It initially focused on a closed door, with one officer heard shouting: "I need you to slowly open the door."
A voice shouted back "I’m putting my shoes on", while Mr Wynne was heard to say "what’s going on mate?". Cashman adds "I’m just putting my trainees on" before the police warn him the door "will be breached" if it is not opened.
The defendant said at this point: "Don’t try and threaten and scare me, I’m getting my s*** together. My hands are in the air, you can handcuff me or do whatever you want."
A sub-machine gun-style firearm could be seen pointed at the door, with a green laser sight from the gun also visible. One officer was heard saying: “Slowly open the door.
"I want to see both your hands at all times. LOOK AT ME, NOT HIM, ME."
Cashman replied "ok, f*****g hell" before the door opened and he was seen stood on the other side wearing a blue top and blue shorts. A PC warned him "keep walking, get your hands behind your head".
He was seen being handcuffed behind his back after saying "I've got nuttin on me". Cashman then said: "You stupid c***s.
"Yous are stitching me up for, whatever it is. What’s it for?
"What have I done? Go on. I just wanna know what I’ve done, that's all. Tell me what I’m arrested for."
After being pulled into a sitting position, Cashman was told he was being arrested on suspicion of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He responded: "What are yous on about murder?
"I haven’t committed no offence what yous are talking about. None, none whatsoever.
"I’ve got nothing on me. Pull me pants down, you’ll see - No messing around.
“Yous are f****** mad. I’m not resisting one little bit. I’m calm. It’s yous who don’t seem too calm."
Late on September 6, after two days in custody, Cashman was released on conditional bail. He was then arrested for a second time at Irwell Chambers in Liverpool city centre at 4.40pm on September 29.
Day 8 - Wednesday, March 15
The judge presiding over the trial issued a warning at the beginning of day eight after "concern was raised" over an overnight post online. Justice Amanda Yip addressed the jury of 10 men and two women to tell them that an investigation was underway after an individual posted something on the internet relating to the trial and that "action would be taken".
The High Court judge said: "Counsel have brought something to my attention which caused concern on both sides. Overnight, there has apparently been inappropriate content in relation to this case put online...
"This is something I regard seriously and something that shouldn't happen. Anyone can put anything, if it's misleading or frankly rubbish, online - it is something serious and something I have to put an investigation in train to stop."
Justice Yip asked the jury to recall instructions she gave on the first day of the trial, relating to avoiding any "research" about the case outside of the courtroom. She added: "I am sure you have all been following the rules, this just emphasises why you following the rules is important and you don't go looking for anything online."
The judge also reminded the jurors to try and avoid mainstream media reports of the case, and that while reporting so far had been "responsible", journalists have a "different role" to jurors and may focus on different parts of the case. Details of the offending post were not aired in front of the jury.
They then heard from firearms expert and forensic scientist Andre de Villiers Horne. Based on CCTV footage of Nee being shot, he told the court two shots were fired from the Glock in "quick succession" with the third shot five seconds later.
One of the first two shots caused a "perforating injury" to Joseph Nee's lower abdomen, while the third fragmented after hitting a house. Mr De Villiers Horne told jurors the empty cartridge from the third shot had not been recovered, which he said suggested it had stuck in the Glock.
He said: "It is possible that the 9mm pistol used by the gunman may have malfunctioned during an apparent struggle. The cartridge case was not ejected as you would normally expect to happen.
"Because of the struggle, the firearm mechanism may have been prevented from operating as normal. You have a gun that malfunctioned. The cartridge case is still located within the gun, and that would have to be manually fixed before any more shots could be discharged."
The jury heard two further bullets were recovered, one from inside the front door of the Korbel family home, and the fatal shot from Olivia's body. The fatal shot had passed through the front door.
Forensic pathologist Dr Jonathan Medcalf told the court Olivia was struck in the left side of her chest, with the bullet exiting close to her armpit and then lodging in her left arm. The single bullet caused damage to her heart and left lung, and the schoolgirl's medical cause of death was given as a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Day 9 - Thursday, March 16
Prosecution junior Henry Riding told jurors of the injuries Joseph Nee sustained during the shooting. He told the court Nee was transferred to Aintree Hospital from Whiston Hospital, where he had initially attended and was treated for gunshot wounds.
He suffered an 8cm laceration to his scalp, a small hemorrhage, a “through and through” wound in the right upper arm, a 5mm “likely entry wound” to the chest, a fractured rib, a “grade two” cardiac injury, “extensive pulmonary contusions” to both lungs, a collection of air and blood in both chest cavities. Mr Riding said of this last injury: “This was considered to be a significant injury, potentially life-threatening.”
Nee also sustained a 5mm entry wound in the abdomen, a “through and through” wound to the colon, a 3cm laceration in the bladder, a deep fracture of the coccyx or tailbone and “metallic foreign bodies” within soft tissues and muscles. A medical report said he was “expected to make a full recovery” but required further surgery. The report said Nee may be left with “reduced lung capacity”, but it would not affect his ability to function.
The jury then heard evidence on phones attributed to Cashman and Ms Sweeney, as well as details of searches of their home in Grenadier Drive on The Points estate. Mr Riding said the address was searched on September 14, but there was no electricity supply.
Meanwhile routers, smoke alarms, CCTV monitors and cables from the rear of TVs in each room had been disconnected. Detective Constable Craig Doyle, a telecommunications officer at Merseyside Police, was asked about his analysis of the WiFi internet router at the property.
David McLachlan KC, prosecuting asked: "Was there one item called XVR, are you able to say when that last connected to the router?”.
DC Doyle replied: “Yes. The data BT provided to the police showed that device last connected with the router on August 25, between 2pm and 4pm."
Mr McLachlan asked what an XVR was. DC Doyle said: "There’s a company called Dahua technology.
"One of the products they manage is a CCTV recorder. They produce a number with the product name XVR."
The officer told the jury no digital CCTV recorder was recovered from the property. The jury has previously heard there were "a number of CCTV cameras" installed at the property, but no footage had been obtained.
The jury also heard that six phone numbers were attributed to Cashman by police, but that he did not appear to have an active number between the dates of August 18 and August 24. A communications engineer and forensic cell-site expert, John Tarpey, was called as a witness and told the jury that several phone numbers, which had been in regular contact with Cashman's phone before it went "out of action" on August 18, began contacting a number attributed to his partner, Miss Sweeney.
However Mr Tarpey said that phone's activity suggested she was still the "principle user" of the phone during that period and that Cashman was an "occasional user".
The prosecution then turned to clothing Cashman was seen wearing and comparisons with that worn by the gunman. PC Michael Kirkman O’Connell described how he was able to identify the suspect's tracksuit and obtained such a tracksuit from Footasylum.
Cashman's house was later searched for a black pair of Monterrain Lander woven running pants. However no such item was recovered.
Jade Holland, “head of design” at Footasylum, was then called to give evidence. She confirmed she was the designer of a Monterrain tracksuit which she was shown pictures of a mannequin wearing.
The witness stated the design was “quite unique” and could be bought via Footasylum or the Monterrain website. The product - which Ms Holland described as "popular and a good seller" - launched "towards the back end of 2021" but was said to be no longer on sale.
Image analyst Tessa Macklam was also called to the stand, having looked for similarities and differences between clothing Cashman was seen wearing on CCTV and that worn by the gunman. She was in particular asked to look at their trousers and footwear.
She identified the defendant as having worn "dark toned full length tracksuit bottoms". The distinctive features of these included "light tone horizontal stripe to the leg, curving down to the front of the leg", a "light toned horizontal detail to the back of the leg below the knee" and being "tapered in appearance".
The shooter meanwhile was said to have worn “dark toned full length trousers with a light toned horizontal detail and tapered appearance”. Ms Macklam said she did not identify any features which indicated a difference between the trousers worn.
Cashman meanwhile was described in CCTV as wearing trainers with a “dark toned upper”, a “light toned sole”, a “light toned Nike swoosh”, a “dark toned towpath” and a “dark toned base to the sole”. The gunman was said to have had footwear with a “dark toned upper, light toned outer sole, light toned detail to the dark toned region on the outer aspect of the upper midsole and a dark tonal base to the sole”.
Mr McLachlan asked of the footwear "were there any differences?”. Ms Macklam replied: "I did not observe any."
Day 10 - Friday, March 17
Ms Macklam's evidence continued for a second day. She conducted further observations after being provided images of a mannequin wearing the supplied tracksuit.
Similarities between the clothing and that Cashman was seen wearing on CCTV included “dark toned full length trouser bottoms” with a “light toned horizontal stripe to the outer upper leg curving down to the front of the leg”, a “tapered appearance to the trouser leg”, a “large pouch pocket to the leg”, a “dark toned protrusion to the upper leg” and a “gathered white cuff to the ankle”. Comparison's between the trousers seen on the mannequin and those worn by the gunman included them being a “dark toned full length trouser”, a “light toned horizontal stripe detail to the upper leg”, a “light toned detail below the knees” and a “tapered appearance to the trouser leg”.
Comparing the footage of the shooting with the tracksuit supplied, Ms Macklam said: “My observations and markers led me to give a more probable conclusion they are the same style and design as the reference images due to the quality of the imagery, the behaviour of the trim under the same lighting conditions and the style of the features we are analysing.”
Mr McLachlan asked the witness if there were “any distinctions to be had” between the clothing provided and those seen in the CCTV images. Ms Macklam replied: “No.”
Cashman denies murdering Olivia, the attempted murder of Nee, wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against Cheryl Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The trial continues.
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