Olivia Pratt-Korbell’s cowardly murderer Thomas Cashman who refused to face a judge at his sentencing ‘will be kept in prison isolation for his own protection’ – after gangsters placed £250,000 bounty on child killer’s head
- Thomas Cashman, 34, refused to appear in the dock to be sentenced to life
- His crime has made him ‘public enemy number one’ inside Strangeways Prison
Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer will reportedly be ‘kept in prison isolation for his own protection’ after gangsters placed a £250,000 bounty on his head.
Thomas Cashman, 34, refused to appear in the dock to be sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court on Monday after a jury found him guilty last week of shooting and killing the schoolgirl in her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.
He had been aiming at drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, who had run into the house moments earlier.
His crime has made him ‘public enemy number one’ inside Strangeways Prison in Manchester, where he has been remanded for the past few months.
A source told The Sun that the isolation period for Cashman will be ‘for his own sake’ as there are ‘people out for revenge’.
The insider revealed: ‘Cashman will be in isolation for a period of time for his own sake. It’ll be easier for all involved. There’s fears he will grass to get an easier life in prison as an informer. And also there’s people out for revenge. Cashman is a real target. The £250,000 bounty will entice people.’
Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer will be ‘kept in prison isolation for his own protection’ after gangsters placed a £250,000 bounty on his head
Thomas Cashman, 34, refused to appear in the dock to be sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court on Monday after a jury found him guilty last week of shooting and killing the schoolgirl (pictured) in her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year
Cashman did not face Olivia’s family at Manchester Crown Court, whining about CPS lawyers turning his trial into a ‘circus’ because they had celebrating putting him behind bars.
The 32-year-old has also been linked to the unsolved murder of Karl Bradley, who was found covered in snow in 2013, as well as three other unsolved gangland shootings in Liverpool.
His gangster brother Kirk Bradley, who is currently serving a life sentence for various violent crimes in Liverpool, has ‘a lot of friends’ within the prison community.
It was revealed on Sunday that gangsters have placed a £250,000 bounty on Cashman’s amid fears that he will ‘grass’ gang members to lighten his sentence.
A gang insider told The Sun that a bounty to ‘silence him’ was issued and has already been circulating in the north and around jails.
The source added that there are several people ‘who will not think twice about carrying it out’.
News of the bounty was publicised on encrypted messaging app Telegram, the source said.
Those who ordered the hit are understood to be worried that Cashman will turn over information about gang executions and unsolved murders in an attempt to improve the terms of his imprisonment.
There is concern his testimony would cause a ‘world of pain’ for several big organised crime bosses who ‘do not want their activities being looked at’.
His crime has made him ‘public enemy number one’ inside Strangeways Prison in Manchester, where he has been remanded for the past few months
Cashman did not face Olivia’s family at Manchester Crown Court, whining about CPS lawyers turning his trial into a ‘circus’ because they had celebrating putting him behind bars (Olivia is pictured)
A court sketch showing Olivia’s mother giving a victim impact statement to the court
‘He has nothing to lose — he is cornered,’ the source told The Sun. ‘There’s lifers who will be mixing with him in months and years to come who will not think twice about carrying it out.’
The insider added that Cashman ‘knows everything there is to know about organised crime, drugs and violence’ in Merseyside.
The convicted killer claimed in court that he was only a cannabis dealer, but was allegedly known as a hitman who ‘thought nothing of putting a bullet in someone’.
It comes after the family of the murdered nine-year-oldhave said their life sentence has already started as her killer was jailed for a minimum of 42 years.
Speaking outside court, Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, said: ‘Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief.’
Wearing a hoody with her daughter’s picture on, she added: ‘We welcome the sentence given but what I can say is that my family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Olivia.’
Reading a statement on behalf of the family of Olivia’s father John Francis Pratt, her aunt Louise Pratt said: ‘Olivia Pratt-Korbel died a scared nine-year-old, and we hope Cashman is haunted by this knowledge for the rest of his life.’
During the sentencing, Ms Korbel took a teddy made from her daughter’s pyjamas into the witness box as she told the court: ‘I cannot get my head around how Cashman continued to shoot after hearing the terrifying screams.
‘The utter devastation he has caused. He doesn’t care, how could he?’
Sentencing Cashman, Mrs Justice Yip said: ‘The defendant has not acknowledged his responsibility for Olivia’s death and so has demonstrated no remorse. ‘His failure to come into court is further evidence of that.’
She said Cashman ‘relentlessly pursued’ his target, Joseph Nee, into Olivia’s home, where the schoolgirl had left her bed after hearing the commotion.
The judge said: ‘She came downstairs to seek the comfort of her mother. Her last words were, ‘Mum, I’m scared’. ‘In a terrible twist of fate she had stepped directly into the line of fire.’
John Cooper KC, defending, told the court Cashman did not want to attend because he felt the matter was ‘turning into a circus’. In mitigation,
Mr Cooper said there was no intention to kill Olivia and said Cashman felt ‘there has been a lot of hysterical reporting of this case as far as he is concerned’.
The trial, which lasted almost four weeks, heard that Cashman had been ‘scoping out’ Nee, a convicted drug dealer, on the day of Olivia’s death.
The jury was told he lay in wait for Nee in Kingsheath Avenue, armed with two guns, and then chased him, firing three shots in the street, when Nee left a house shortly before 10pm. Nee ran towards the open door of Olivia’s home after her mother had gone out to see what the noise was, the court heard.
The bullet that killed Olivia was fired through the front door, hitting the wrist of Ms Korbel – who was trying to hold the door shut – before striking Olivia in the chest.
A woman who had a relationship with Cashman told the jury he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed his clothes and she heard him say he had ‘done Joey’.
Cashman next to a waxwork of the late Queen with his fingers in a gun gesture pointing at the figure’s head
Gang bosses have reportedly issued a £250,000 bounty to ‘silence’ Cashman (pictured in a court sketch on Thursday after the verdicts were read out) amid fears he will ‘grass’ fellow criminals. News of the bounty has been circulating in the north and around jails
Terrifying CCTV footage showed a gun-wielding Cashman (in blue) hunting his intended target, Joseph Nee (in red)
Footage of Cashman hunting Nee was released by Merseyside Police following Thursday’s verdict. Thomas Cashman (referred to as TC) can be heard shooting at his intended target
Mrs Justice Yip praised the bravery of the witness, who has been granted lifetime anonymity, and said: ‘The defendant invented a defence designed to humiliate and undermine her.
‘It did not work. She was subjected to lengthy questioning about the most intimate details, but she stood firm. ‘I am sorry that she had to endure that but endure it she did, and her courage is to be applauded.’
During his evidence, Cashman admitted being a ‘high-level’ cannabis dealer. But the father of two told the court: ‘I’m not a killer, I’m a dad.’ The judge accepted that being taken away from his children was a loss for Cashman and for them, but added: ‘It is a loss that he is wholly responsible for.’
The jury took more than nine hours to find Cashman guilty of Olivia’s murder, the attempted murder of Nee, the wounding with intent of Ms Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
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