Police praise 'brave' ex-partner of Thomas Cashman who helped in murder conviction

• Report by ITV Granada Reports Merseyside Correspondent Andy Bonner

Police have commended the "incredible bravery" of a former partner of Thomas Cashman who came forward to help convict him as the killer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

The nine-year-old died after being shot by Cashman in her own home in Dovecot in Liverpool on 22 August 2022.

Olivia's mum, Cheryl Korbel, 46, was also injured during the 34-year-old's pursuit of his intended target Joseph Nee.

Police say his conviction was thanks to the key prosecution witness who was given anonymity during the trial at Manchester Crown Court, and has now been placed into protection.

During the 18 day trial the witness said she had left Liverpool and was “terrified” of giving evidence against Cashman, but had done so because a child had been shot dead.

The woman, who had a fling with Cashman, told police Cashman had come to her house after the shooting, before she heard him say he had “done Joey”.

Merseyside Police Detective Superintendent Mark Baker said: “We hoped and prayed, through our witness appeal, that a witness of this nature would come forward.

“She showed incredible bravery. Probably in my 30-year service, I’ve never seen such bravery.”

Peter Williams, who has worked in policing all his life, and now lectures on the subject says he was struck by the bravery of the witness.

He said the information was "absolutely crucial".

"We know that," the Policing Expert at Liverpool John Moores University said, "because they took the dramatic and major step of putting that individual into witness protection.

"The life she once had has now gone.

"She was somebody who wanted to say what she had to say. She felt her reasons to doing so were justified.

"I think we would all agree and absolutely commend her for doing that."

The moment Thomas Cashman was arrested by Merseyside Police - where he claimed he had done nothing wrong

During the trial at Manchester Crown Court the witness told jurors: “When there’s a little girl involved, there’s no form of grassing in my world, when there’s a little girl involved.

“Because of this little girl. I just feel like if he was any sort of man, he would just… own it.

“I can’t believe he’s making her family go through this. It’s child, it’s a child.

“They all should be ashamed of themselves who are supporting him as well.”

Following Olivia’s murder, the community - on both sides of the criminal line - also provided police with the information they needed to arrest Cashman in a volume officers say they have “never seen before”.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen added: “The information which came forward from our communities was fantastic in a volume we've never seen before.

“There was a real appetite, passion, hunger to make sure the person responsible, Thomas Cashman, was caught, that the evidence was found to charge him, and that he was ultimately convicted.

“They recognised the horror, the mindlessness, the tragedy that we saw played out on our streets.

“They recognised this was a step too far and wanted to engage with us.”

Another man, Paul Russell, 41, has admitted driving Cashman away from a house following the nine-year-old’s murder and disposing of his clothing.

Merseyside Police is cracking down on criminal gangs in the Dovecot area and has already seized thousands of pounds worth of drugs, two guns and cash.

The project aims to break the cycle of gang culture in and around Dovecot.

Joanne Matthews, from Safer Stronger Communities at Liverpool City Council, said: "It was such a shock that something like this could happen in our city.

"People were frightened at the time as well because if that could happen, what else could happen. But for me it's about moving forward now.

"It's what next? This terrible thing has happened but what can we do to stop it ever happening again?"

Weapons Down Gloves Up aims to steer young people away from violence.

"It's make or break now because it's just getting so so bad," Molly McCann, a UFC Fighter and Weapons Down Gloves Up Ambassador said.

"The young people now are that resilient towards authority they don't care.

"But that's a matter I can't control. I can only control what I can control.

"That's each child or young person we come into contact with, trying to change the course of their life."

Cashman will be sentenced alongside Russell on Monday 3 April.