Given that there are allegedly “those out for revenge,” the murderer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel will reportedly be kept in isolation for his own safety.
In a failed attempt on rival drug dealer Joseph Nee in Liverpool in August of last year, Thomas Cashman, 34, killed the nine-year-old and injured her mother Cheryl, according to a verdict handed down last week.
Upon learning that the prosecution team had sang in celebration of his conviction as he was sentenced to 42 years in prison yesterday, he refused to face Olivia’s family.
Cashman’s shooting shocked the nation, but it appears it also made him a target for gangsters who ‘placed a £250,000 bounty on his head’.
They reportedly fear he could implicate them in other unsolved murders in exchange for a cushier life in prison.
‘Cashman will be in isolation for a period of time for his own sake. It’ll be easier for all involved,’ a source told The Sun.
‘There’s fears he will grass to get an easier life in prison as an informer. And also there’s people out for revenge. Cashman is a real target. The £250,000 bounty will entice people.’
Cashman’s barrister revealed the killer had become upset that prosecutors sang ‘We Are the Champions’ after the jury returned its verdict.
John Cooper KC told the court: ‘He has been spoken to and been given certain advice but he is concerned that the matter is turning into a circus.’
Ruling the sentencing could go ahead, Mrs Justice Yip slammed Cashman’s absence as ‘deeply disrespectful’ to Olivia’s grieving family.
His antics caused several minutes of delay to proceedings and meant Cashman – unlike the vast majority of criminals in the UK – did not have to listen to victim impact statements read out in court.
In her statement, Mrs Korbel, 46, said Olivia was planning to donate 12 inches of her hair to the Princess Trust, which creates wigs for sick children.
Olivia had been due to have her ponytail lopped off five days after she was murdered.
In his statement, Olivia’s dad, John Pratt, said: ‘Each day I feel completely overwhelmed and I don’t know how I’ll cope. I can’t stay at my home. It’s a constant reminder of the loss of Olivia.
‘I want to visit Olivia and sometimes sit outside the cemetery. If I go inside, it will all seem real. My heart is broken every time I hear Olivia’s name on the television.
‘Olivia will never call me dad again. All I want is my baby back and roasting marshmallows as I promised her on the last time I saw her.
‘I will never get to keep this promise or give her the Christmas presents I bought her. She will never get the opportunity to fall in love and have her own children.
‘I will never get the opportunity to see my daughter on her wedding day. Most of all, I’ll never get to see her grow into the beautiful woman she was destined to become.
‘We have been robbed of her future and the amazing teenager and adult she was destined to become. She will be forever nine.’