CCTV footage of Thomas Cashman shooting victim
Thomas Cashman demanded half his fee of £100,000, despite failing to kill Joseph Nee in a contracted assassination. The 34-year-old Liverpudlian was unanimously convicted of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel by a jury at Manchester Crown Court on Friday. Mr Cashman killed Olivia and injured her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, as he chased fellow drug dealer Mr Nee into their home on the evening of 22 August.
The jury of 10 men and two women took nine hours and three minutes to reach their decision.
As the verdict was read out, there were gasps and tears in court, with Ms Korbel later saying she felt "ecstatic".
Mr Cashman, who was also found guilty of wounding Ms Korbel, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, will be sentenced on Monday.
A source told The Sun that the hit on 36-year-old Mr Nee was ordered after he had amassed a drugs debt with a crime family.
They claimed that Mr Cashman showed no contrition after the shooting and even demanded payment of half his fee for having wounded Mr Nee.
The source explained: "Cashman has no heart. He claimed in court to be a cannabis dealer but everyone knows he was a hitman who thought nothing of putting a bullet in someone.
“He was so desperate to kill Nee that he chased him into Olivia’s home and carried on firing. Everyone knew that Olivia had been fatally wounded but he didn’t seem to care, despite being a dad himself.
"He even asked for half of the money because although he didn’t manage to kill Nee, he put him in hospital. All he was bothered about was the money.”
READ MORE: Man admits helping Cashman as he scrambled to cover up Olivia's murder
The Court heard that Mr Nee had been targeted in an earlier shooting on August 8, two weeks prior to the murder of Olivia.
During a previous court session, jurors were told the shootings came after a feud between two families.
However, there was insufficient evidence that Mr Cashman was involved in the August 8 shooting, although police had not ruled him out as a suspect.
Det Supt Mark Baker, the senior investigating officer in the case, said Mr Cashman's actions were "abhorrent".
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He said officers were still "hunting down" those who had enabled Olivia's murder and finding the weapons, which had not yet been recovered, was key.
"When he found out that he had shot an innocent young girl, he should have had the courage to stand up and come forward," he said.
"Instead, he chose to lie low despite the fact that he was a dad himself.
"He is not worthy of walking the streets of Merseyside, and neither are those who think they can bring fear or intimidation to our communities through the use of firearms."
