man should be convicted of murder Liverpool schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was found guilty last week of murdering the nine-year-old and intentionally wounding her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, when he chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee to their home in the city’s Dovecot neighborhood. August 22 last year.
The jury also found him guilty of the attempted murder of Nee and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
During the 19-day trial period at Manchester Crown Courtthe jury heard Cashman admit to operating as a “high level” cannabis dealer in the area.
The court learned that he had “scouted” Nee, the intended target, on the day of the shooting and was waiting for him, armed with two rifles, while watching a football game at a friend’s house.
Footage played to the jury showed the gunman, wearing track pants to match a pair worn by Cashman, chasing Nee down Kingsheath Avenue and firing three shots.
The jury was told that Nee ran to the open door of Olivia’s childhood home, after Mrs. Korbel came out to see what the noise was, and the fatal shot was fired through the front door.
It hit Mrs. Korbel in the wrist as she tried to close the door and struck Olivia in the chest.
Cashman, a father of two, said around the time of the shooting that he had been at a friend’s house where he counted £10,000 in cash and smoked a joint.
During his testimony, he told the court, “I’m not a murderer, I’m a father.”
But a woman who had an affair with Cashman told the jury that he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed clothes and she heard him say he “did Joey”.
He will be sentenced by Ms Justice Yip at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.
Paul Russell, 41, who admitted to assisting a perpetrator by driving Cashman away from an address after the shooting and giving his clothes to another person, is expected to be sentenced separately at a later date.