Timeline of Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder investigation - all we know so far

Two men have been charged, nearly six weeks after the Liverpool schoolgirl was shot dead at her home.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Following an extensive and complex investigation, two men have been charged following the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Dovecot nearly six weeks ago.

Thomas Cashman, 34, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, has been charged with the murder of Olivia; two counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearms with intent to endanger life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A second man, Paul Russell, 40 years, from Snowberry Road, West Derby, has been charged with assisting an offender.

It is a landmark moment for the case, which has seen 11 arrests made so far.

Olivia’s death on August 22 drew widespread condemnation, as well as numerous appeals for information from the public and with £200,000 offered as a reward to help catch her killer.

Here is a timeline of events in the case:

August 22

  • Olivia Pratt-Korbel is shot and killed shortly after 10pm when a gunman - pursuing another man - forces his way into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool.
  • The pursued man, who was also shot, is taken to hospital by friends in a black Audi as Olivia and her mother lie wounded.
  • Olivia, hit in the chest by a bullet, dies in hospital, while her mother, Cheryl Korbel, was shot in the wrist.

August 23

  • Merseyside Police name Olivia as the shooting victim, saying her death is “an absolute tragedy” that “crosses every single boundary”.

August 24

  • The man pursued into Olivia’s house is named as 35-year-old Joseph Nee, a convicted burglar from Dovecot.

August 30

  • An inquest into Olivia’s death opens at Gerard Majella Courthouse in Liverpool.
  • It hears how a police officer attempted to save her life by covering the gunshot wound with his hand, as he carried the nine-year-old to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

September 12

  • Merseyside Police say that they have arrested and bailed nine suspects in the fortnight since Olivia’s shooting.
  • They also embark on an “extensive land search” for the murder weapon at West Derby Golf Club, assisted by a drone unit and underwater search team.

September 13

  • Olivia’s headteacher reveals that her classmates have been provided with counselling after returning to school from their summer holidays.
  • “They are devastated at the loss of their friend, they truly are, but the counselling has definitely helped,” Rebecca Wilkinson, of St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School in Huyton, said.

September 14

  • Lord Ashcroft, founder of the charity Crimestoppers, offers £50,000 for information leading to the conviction of Olivia’s killer.

September 15

  • Mourners turn out for Olivia’s funeral in pink ties, jackets, scarves and bows after being asked by her family to wear a “splash of pink”.
  • Cheryl Korbel, who said her daughter “touched so many people’s hearts”, carries a pink teddy bear into the service.

September 21

  • The reward for finding Olivia’s killer is raised to £200,000 with the intervention of a private donor.

October 1

  • Almost six weeks after Olivia’s death, police charge 34-year-old Thomas Cashman of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, with her murder.
  • He will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Monday alongside Paul Russell, 40, of Snowberry Road, West Derby, who is charged with assisting an offender.
Related topics: