Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s alleged killer was ‘lying in wait outside target's home’

CCTV footage shows the alleged murderer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel drove past the house his intended target was in multiple times on the day he carried out the attack, a court has been told.

The nine-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly shot through the chest in her own home by 34-year-old Thomas Cashman who, the court was told, had been “ruthlessly and relentlessly pursuing” another man in Knotty Ash, Liverpool.

On the third day of his trial at Manchester Crown Court, jurors were taken through Mr Cashman’s movements in the lead-up to the “pre-planned” shooting and were told he went past, or had sight of, the property his target was in 12 times in the hours before the attack.

Mr Cashman is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Olivia and injured her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, as well as convicted burglar Joseph Nee, 34, who was said to be “without doubt” the intended target.

CCTV footage

Police investigators tracked Mr Cashman throughout the day of Aug 22 using CCTV from shops and residential properties around the Dovecot area of Liverpool.

Prosecutors allege Mr Cashman learned that Nee was at an address in Finch Lane, near to Olivia’s house in Kingsheath Avenue, in the late afternoon after seeing his white van parked outside.

On one journey made by Mr Cashman, CCTV shows him driving a white Citroen Berlingo van away from his home in Grenadier Drive, West Derby, just after 3pm.

It shows him driving past Finch Lane, where the Volkswagen Transporter van belonging to Mr Nee was parked.

Footage then shows Mr Cashman driving to his sister's home in Mab Lane, where he stayed for about six minutes before returning to his car and driving past Finch Lane again. Mr Nee's van was still parked outside the property of his friend Timothy Naylor.

Mr Cashman returned to his sister’s address but, just after 3.30pm, Mr Nee left Mr Naylor's house to go to Screwfix and drove away, the court was told.

The jury was then shown footage of Mr Cashman leaving his sister's house on foot at 3.36pm.

Footage from just before 4pm shows Mr Cashman, dressed in black with his face covered, walking a few steps into Finch Lane, before turning and returning from the direction he came.

'Lying in wait'

Later on that day, prosecutors allege, Mr Cashman made another series of journeys around the area in which he would again have had sight of the property.

Opening the case on Tuesday, David McLachlan KC said that by the early evening, Mr Nee was inside the house in Finch Lane watching Liverpool play Manchester United and that Mr Cashman was “lying in wait” outside, with two loaded firearms.

Mr McLachlan said: “It was now ‘game on,’” saying that Mr Cashman “had done his checks, done his due diligence, he knew the van was there, the target was there, he knew the target was where he wanted him to be”.

Mr Cashman denies the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Olivia's mother, and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The trial, expected to last four weeks, continues.