'It's a new way of living', says Olivia's mum four years on

"Life will never be the same," says the mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, four years after her daughter was murdered in their family home.

"It's just a new way, trying a new way of living."

Cheryl Korbel was wounded by the same bullet that killed Olivia when it was fired through the front door of their home in Liverpool by drug dealer Thomas Cashman.

Cashman had been trying to kill a fellow criminal, Joseph Nee, who burst into the Korbel household on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, in a desperate bid to escape.

The bullet passed through Korbel's wrist, before fatally hitting the nine-year-old.

Korbel said she thought about the milestones her daughter missed "every minute of every day."

"You know starting secondary school, even the milestones of her brother passing his driving test," she said.

"She's missed out on that and she's going to miss out on passing her own driving test as well."

Korbel has joined other bereaved parents supporting an educational programme for schools to highlight the devastation caused by violence.

Julie Dale, the mother of 28-year-old Ashley Dale who was also shot in her own home just the day before Olivia, is also supporting the Dear Merseyside project.

She said that having the support of fellow parents who had also lost children to gun crime had really helped her, adding "we help each other loads".

Joanne Rimmer - whose son Sam Rimmer was gunned down just over a week earlier, also launched the project, along with Tim Edwards, whose daughter Elle Edwards was shot dead outside a Wirral pub on Christmas Eve the same year.

A trial at Manchester Crown Court in 2023 heard Cashman, who was wearing a balaclava and was armed with two handguns, had been lurking in wait for Nee.

He saw his target walking up Kingsheath Avenue with a friend shortly before 22:00 BST and opened fire with an automatic pistol, striking Nee and causing him to drop to the ground.

In an exchange caught on CCTV footage, Cashman stood over Nee as the wounded man begged for his life.

However as Cashman tried to fire the fatal shot, from point-blank range, the Glock appeared to malfunction giving Nee the chance to scramble to his feet and flee.

Moments earlier, Cheryl Korbel had heard a commotion outside and walked to the end of her front path to see what was happening.

Nee, apparently identifying an escape route, rushed into the house as Cheryl desperately tried to close the door.

Olivia, who had been in bed, also heard the noise and as Cheryl fought to keep the door closed, her daughter came downstairs and stood directly behind her.

Cashman opened fire four times.

One bullet pierced the front door, passed through Cheryl's wrist and struck Olivia in the chest.

She was rushed to the nearby Alder Hey Children's Hospital by armed police officers, but died later that night.

Cashman was convicted of Olivia's murder, the attempted murder of Nee and wounding Cheryl Korbel and jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Cheryl said: "I just miss hearing her voice. It's just so quiet.

"I would do and give anything in the world to have her chatting to me. It's so very lonely without her.

"Everything is just so quiet. I just can't cope with the silence."

Cashman refused to leave his cell during the sentencing hearing, which led to a campaign - fronted by the Korbel family - to change the law.

The legislation, dubbed Olivia's Law, was given royal assent in April this year as part of the Victims and Courts Bill.

It will give court staff powers to use reasonable force to ensure criminals attend the hearings and, should they still refuse, pave the way for time to be added to their sentence and privileges such as visiting rights removed.

In a statement issued after the bill was approved, her family said: "We are so proud that Olivia's name will be making a difference for years and years to come and I know that whichever silver lined cloud she is perched on tonight she will be looking down on us all beaming with pride."

The Dear Merseyside guided classroom resources are designed to encourage young people in schools to have discussions about the devastating impact of violence, recognising criminal exploitation and making positive life choices, Merseyside Police said.

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