London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 30, 2026

Thomas Cashman guilty: Olivia mum 'ecstatic' at murder conviction

Thomas Cashman guilty: Olivia mum 'ecstatic' at murder conviction

A man has been found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was fatally shot in her home in Liverpool.

Thomas Cashman, 34, killed Olivia and injured her mother Cheryl Korbel as he chased a fellow drug dealer into their home on the evening of 22 August.

There were gasps and tears in court as he was convicted, with Ms Korbel later saying she felt "ecstatic".

Merseyside Police said Cashman was "not worthy of walking the streets".

Cashman, who was also found guilty of wounding Ms Korbel, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, will be sentenced on Monday.

The jury of 10 men and two women at Manchester Crown Court took nine hours and three minutes to reach their unanimous verdicts.

Ms Korbel, 46, wearing a pink cardigan and holding a teddy bear, sat with her children Chloe and Ryan in the court as the verdicts were read out.

Cashman wiped away tears in the dock and turned to his family in the public gallery behind, shaking his head.

One of his relatives could be heard saying "appeal it" and they left the courtroom shouting and swearing.

During the trial, the jury heard 36-year-old Nee, who has a number of previous convictions, was the intended target of the attack.

Cashman, who made up to £5,000 per week dealing cannabis in Liverpool, had been lying in wait for his fellow drug dealer at about 22:00 BST, the jury was told.

He shot at Nee in the street and wounded him but his gun jammed as he tried to finish the job.

Thomas Cashman was convicted following a trial, which lasted more than three weeks


Nee fled for his life - heading towards the light of an open door - the home of Ms Korbel, who had heard the commotion.

But, as she tried to close the door to keep the strangers out, Cashman shot again.

The bullet went through the door, through her hand, and fatally hit Olivia in the chest.

Cashman then fled the scene, running across back gardens.

The court heard Nee and his family "had their enemies" and it was not the first time he had been targeted in a shooting.

Nee had been shot at on 8 August, two weeks before the shooting in which Olivia was killed.

During a previous hearing, which could not be reported until the conclusion of this trial, the court was told the shootings came after a feud between two families.

There had been a "background of hostility" between Nee's family and another, the court heard.

The same self-loading pistol used by Cashman to kill Olivia had been fired at Nee in the earlier incident, police said.

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 8 August but he had not been eliminated by police, the court heard.

During the trial, Cashman, a father-of-two, had told the court he had been at a friend's house where he counted £10,000 in cash and smoked a spliff at around the time of the shooting.

But a woman, who had had a fling with Cashman, told the jury he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed his clothes and she heard him say he had "done Joey".

It can now also be reported that Paul Russell, 41, admitted driving Cashman away from a house where he fled to following Olivia's murder and disposing of his clothing.

Russell, of Snowberry Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court in October and will also be sentenced on Monday.

Journalists were prevented from reporting his plea until the conclusion of Cashman's trial.

Paul Russell appeared at Liverpool Crown Court in October


Det Supt Mark Baker, the senior investigating officer in the case, said Cashman's actions were "abhorrent".

He said officers were still "hunting down" those who had enabled Olivia's murder and finding the weapons, which had not yet been recovered, was key.

"When he found out that he had shot an innocent young girl, he should have had the courage to stand up and come forward," he said.

"Instead, he chose to lie low despite the fact that he was a dad himself.

"He is not worthy of walking the streets of Merseyside, and neither are those who think they can bring fear or intimidation to our communities through the use of firearms."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
White House: Trump warns Canada of 100% tariff if Carney finalizes China trade deal
PLA opens CMC probe of Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli over Xi authority and discipline violations
ICE and DHS immigration raids in Minneapolis: the use-of-force accountability crisis in mass deportation enforcement
UK’s Starmer and Trump Agree on Urgent Need to Bolster Arctic Security
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
Prince Harry Says Sacrifices of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Deserve ‘Respect’ After Trump Remarks
Barron Trump Emerges as Key Remote Witness in UK Assault and Rape Trial
×