Thomas Cashman: 'Brave' ex-partner helped convict Olivia's killer

"Ruthless killer" Thomas Cashman was convicted of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel successful ample portion due to the fact that of his "petrified" erstwhile partner's "incredible bravery" successful coming forward, constabulary said.

The 34-year-old fatally changeable Olivia and injured her parent Cheryl Korbel astatine their Liverpool location during a botched "execution" of a convicted cause trader pursuing a pursuit connected 22 August.

Cashman was wide feared successful the Dovecot country of the city, wherever helium made up to £5,000 per week arsenic a "high level" cannabis dealer, utilizing intimidation and unit to guarantee payment.

Fear of reprisals meant constabulary and prosecutors were acrophobic they would conflict to ever bring Olivia's masked slayer to justice.

But the important breakthrough came erstwhile a woman, who Cashman went to connected the nighttime of the murder, approached constabulary 2 days later.

The woman, who cannot beryllium named for ineligible reasons, had antecedently had a little narration with the killer.

She told detectives she was "petrified" of Cashman, but "this is simply a nine-year-old kid - I privation her household to get justice".

The cardinal witnesser said she was inactive "terrified" of him arsenic she was giving grounds astatine his Manchester Crown Court trial.

"When there's a small miss involved, there's nary signifier of grassing successful my world," she told the jury.

The antheral who led the execution hunt, Det Supt Mark Baker of Merseyside Police, said her determination to travel guardant "was a truly important infinitesimal successful the investigation".

Senior authoritative Maria Corr said Cashman had utilized 2 guns portion shooting astatine his intended people Joseph Nee.

"In the community, radical [were] acrophobic of coming guardant - due to the fact that would their kid beryllium next?," she said.

"The privateness and information of your ain location - this ruthless slayer didn't care. He changeable a small nine-year-old child."

In an interrogation with BBC News, Ms Corr said Cashman's actions begged the question: "If idiosyncratic is similar that, would you travel forward?

"Thankfully, we had a witnesser who had the courageousness of her convictions and wanted justness and she was very, very, brave."

Ms Corr said that erstwhile she assessed the woman's interrogation with detectives, she recovered her words to beryllium "powerful, beardown and the bottommost enactment was she was telling the truth".

She explained: "We had each the autarkic grounds that corroborated her relationship - the tracksuit bottoms, the [gunshot residue] connected those tracksuit bottoms, the T-shirt, the telephone telephone to her spouse who past came, past we saw him [dropping] Thomas Cashman off.

"Then we had that small clip of CCTV of [a man] past taking what she said was the container with execution apparel successful it to idiosyncratic else."

Ms Corr added: "She was telling the information - and it was astatine that infinitesimal I thought, 'Yes, the officers had done capable for maine to marque my charging decision'."

Det Supt Baker agreed the witnesser had been incredibly courageous, particularly fixed "the levels of fearfulness successful the community".

Even though helium said officers had obtained 320 pieces of CCTV footage - sometimes lone seized pursuing tribunal orders - the elder investigating serviceman said: "Without witnesses determination is nary justice."

It was "probably the bravest happening that I've seen successful my vocation successful presumption of coming guardant and providing grounds successful court", helium added.

Det Supt Baker besides said that portion determination had been a £200,000 reward offered to anybody providing grounds starring to the condemnation of Olivia's killer, the witnesser had not made a claim.

"During the people of the trial... determination was an allegation that she was financially driven," helium said.

"She came to america connected 24 August - 2 days aft the execution - earlier immoderate reward was adjacent offered. She wasn't financially driven.

"She explained herself successful unfastened tribunal what her motive was, and she's done it for each the close reasons.

"Because a enactment had been drawn successful the soil successful respect of the shooting of a nine-year-old miss successful her ain house."