Olivia's mum walks out of court as Thomas Cashman denies shooting Liverpool schoolgirl

  • Merseyside Correspondent Andy Bonner reports from the trial of Thomas Cashman.

The mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel walked out of court as the man accused of shooting the nine-year-old denied her murder.

Giving evidence for a third day at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday, Thomas Cashman, 34, was shown CCTV footage of the gunman carrying out the shooting in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.

The footage showed the man, alleged to be Cashman, chasing convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, and firing three shots in the street.

In another clip a fourth shot can be heard.

Cross-examining Cashman, David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, said: "That's you, isn't it?"

Cashman replied: "No, it's not me."

Mr McLachlan said: "You're not prepared to, in the words of somebody else, own this, Mr Cashman, because you killed a little girl?"

Cashman said: "No, I did not kill a little girl."

Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot when a gunman burst into her home chasing a convicted drug dealer. Credit: Family handout

He questioned whether his DNA had been found on the door of Olivia's family home and suggested Nee had given the name of another suspect.

Mr McLachlan said: "You're not prepared to own this?"

Cashman replied: "I did not do it, that's why."

Olivia's mum walked out of court as Thomas Cashman denied murdering her daughter. Credit: Press Association

Olivia's mother, who was injured when the gunman chased Nee into their house, walked out of court following the denial.

Cashman has admitted selling cannabis but told the court he was "not a bad drug dealer".

He said: "I was drug dealing, I admit, I hold my hands up, I'm a drug dealer.

"I'm not a bad drug dealer who sells Class A drugs, I don't do anything bad.

"I sell cannabis in my local area whereabouts I grew up. Some people might look at that as a bad thing because a drug dealer's a drug dealer.

"I don't look at it as I'm a bad person for doing that."

Earlier Cashman denied being in a “murder frame of mind” on the night of the shooting.

Mr McLachlan asked why he had left his home in West Derby, Liverpool, at about 8.30pm that day.

Mr McLachlan said: “Were you starting to get excited?”

Cashman replied: “No, I was not starting to get excited.”

Mr McLachlan said: “Were you starting to get in the murder frame of mind?”

Cashman said: “No, I was not getting in no murder frame of mind whatsoever.”

Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, Liverpool, denies the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of 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.