Thomas Cashman's first attempt to kill target Joseph Nee was foiled by shopping trip hours before Olivia's death
08.04.2023 - 19:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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.
The 34-year-old had attempted to kill Nee when he instead struck nine-year-old Olivia in her home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year. But another attempt to assassinate Nee earlier that day was foiled when Cashman's target visited a Screwfix store, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The trial heard how Cashman, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, spent much of that day patrolling the area around nearby Finch Lane. On that afternoon, Cashman spotted Nee's Volkswagen Transporter van parked up on the street.
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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.
They then returned to Finch Lane, with Nee helping Mr Naylor to set up a TV he had purchased. It was at this time that Cashman passed by the address in his own van, a Citroen Berlingo.
In a change of dark clothing, he then appeared on CCTV footage at the junction of Berryford Road and Finch Lane shortly before 4pm. Cameras captured him stood on the street corner with his face covered, peering over in the direction of Mr Naylor's home before doing a sudden "about turn". Nee's van was no longer there.
Unbeknown to Cashman, he had left the area