Olivia's mum remembers murder of girl, 9, one year ago 'like it was yesterday'

22 August 2023 , 06:02

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Olivia's mum remembers murder of girl, 9, one year ago 'like it was yesterday'

The mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel said her “sassy little princess” has touched the community, a year on from her murder.

Olivia was shot dead in her own home on August 22 last year by drug dealer Thomas Cashman. A year on, her mother Cheryl Korbel, 47, who was hit in the wrist by the bullet which killed her daughter, said she wanted Olivia to be remembered as a “sassy, cheeky little princess”, who “loved life”.

Cheryl’s cousin, Antonia Elverson, added: “She packed so much in to them nine little years.” Cheryl said Olivia had left an impact on the community and was remembered with a garden in Court Hey Park, Knowsley, which features a butterfly mosaic and will be used by schoolchildren for workshops."

Olivia Pratt-Korbel died on August 22 last year after she was shot (PA)

Cheryl, from Liverpool, said Olivia Pratt-Korbel 'loved life' (PA)

She said: “It’s lovely. The kids can’t wait to come down in September and to start doing the workshops at the garden. Even when I go to the school, I still see the mums and dads and it’s lovely to still have that connection with the school and the mums and dads and the kids. They’ve all been touched by Liv, one way or another.”

Asked how she felt a year on, the mother of three said: “Like it was yesterday, I blinked and the last 12 months have just flown by.” She said she planned to “constantly mention” Olivia’s name on the anniversary of her murder.

Final words of Olivia, 9, before being shot as mum cried 'stay with me baby'

Her death in Dovecot was one of three fatal shootings within a week in Liverpool, with council worker Ashley Dale, 28, killed in Old Swan on August 21 and 22-year-old Sam Rimmer fatally injured in Dingle on August 16. Antonia, 41, said gun crime at the time had been “out of control”.

The mum is calling for a change in the law to force offenders to appear in court for sentencing (CHRIS NEILL)

She added: “There’s no words to describe that. Sam and Ashley – we remember listening to that on the news and we were absolutely heartbroken for their families.

“No one would have said to us that literally 24 hours after Ashley, we would be living that nightmare. It hasn’t just rocked the community. It hasn’t just rocked the city, it’s rocked the country, it’s rocked the nation. Gun crime has to stop. Knife crime has to stop.”

Killer Cashman, 34, was jailed for life with a minimum of 42 years in April. Antonia added: “This pain is never going to go away. Like Cheryl said at the end of the trial, our life sentence has just began. Don’t let another family have to go that.”

Stephen White