Thomas Cashman's first attempt to kill target Joseph Nee was foiled by shopping trip hours before Olivia's death
The gunshot which killed schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel was Thomas Cashman's second attempt to assassinate a convicted burglar and drug dealer in a matter of hours. Joseph Nee was the intended target for Cashman, who was jailed for life this week following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.
It was outside the home of a man called Timothy Naylor, where Nee would later watch the Liverpool v Manchester United match on television. The two men visited Aintree Retail Park, shopping in Currys and American Golf before getting food from Subway. The hitman continued to keep tabs on Finch Lane throughout the day however. He took a total of 12 trips past Mr Naylor's home in the afternoon and evening of August 22.
Jurors heard during a three-and-a-half-week trial that when Nee left the address with another man, Paul Abraham, the gunman approached them from behind and opened fire with a self-loading Glock-style pistol. A chilling piece of CCTV footage showed Mr Abraham running for his life as two loud bangs rang out.
The assailant fired another shot with a second, backup weapon - a 0.3 caliber revolver - at this point. This was the shot that claimed Olivia's life, the bullet passing through the door and travelling through the mother's hand before striking her in the chest. She was woken by him standing at her bedside before she phoned her boyfriend Paul Russell, who then arrived at the house. The witness - who cannot be named for legal reasons - reported hearing Cashman make an apparent confession to her partner at the doorstep, telling him: "I've done Joey."
Cashman had admitted being a "high level" drug dealer who made up to £5,000 per week selling cannabis. His various trips around the area throughout the day, by his account, were apparently concerned with his involvement in the supply of the class B substance.
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