Olivia Pratt-Korbel killer to appeal murder sentence for gunning down 9-year-old

17 October 2023 , 13:52

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Thomas Cashman was jailed for life in April this year

Thomas Cashman has renewed his application to appeal against his life sentence for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

Cashman, 34, was found guilty of murdering the nine-year-old and the wounding with intent of her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, as he chased convicted into their home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool on August 22 last year. Cashman was jailed for life with a minimum of 42 years behind bars for the shocking murder.

A Court of Appeal staff member has now confirmed the gunman has renewed his application to appeal against A hearing has been confirmed for Wednesday, November 15, at the Court of Appeal in London.

Olivia, nine, was shot dead in her home on Merseyside (PA)

Cheryl Korbel "laughed" when she heard about Cashman's earlier appeal (PA)

Cashman has already lost an appeal to have his reduced, when it went before the court in July and a High Court judge refused his application. Speaking at the time, Olivia’s mother said: “Cheryl continued: “I laughed when I heard he had appealed his sentence, I just thought it was a joke, we went right through court and then he never turned up for his sentence.

“He pleaded it wasn’t him but then put an appeal in over his sentence but not his conviction. To me he’s admitting that he’s done it by putting an appeal in to say that he’s got too long. He’s not grasped the severity of what he’s actually done.

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“He’s sat there for weeks reading all the evidence and what was said in the trial and he still didn’t grasp it, he was still pleading his innocence. He was found guilty and didn’t turn up for his sentencing, but still had the cheek to appeal.

“It's a life sentence for us as a family, you never get closure, and then for him to not turn up was a punch in the stomach. It's not a quick process at all. It was draining."

"The pain he has put us through, we've lost Olivia, she was the core of the family, she was the youngest. But whether that makes any difference to him I'm not sure. The law needs changing so other families don't have to go through the same thing, so they get the chance to tell these offenders the pain they have caused.”

Antony Clements-Thrower