A man has been sentenced to 22 months in prison for assisting Thomas Cashman, the gunman who murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Paul Russell, 41, pleaded guilty after driving Cashman back to his van following the killing and disposing of a bag of clothes.
The judge gave Russell credit for going to detectives and naming the killer when he realised Olivia had been shot dead.
He claimed he didn’t know the girl had been killed when he helped Cashman on the night of the shooting.
Cashman had fled the scene, hopping over back gardens, before turning up at the house of woman he’d been in a relationship with – who was now Russell’s girlfriend.
She called him when Cashman turned up and Olivia’s murderer is said to have demanded Russell drive him back to his Citroen van on Aspes Road.
He did so – and also took a bag of Cashman’s clothes to another address, where friends of the killer lived.
The court also heard police had issued him with a “threat to life” notice once he was charged with assisting Cashman, and he’s set to be given a new identity when he’s released.
Cashman was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years earlier this month after being found guilty of the murder in Liverpool last August.
Cashman could have his sentence increased after the Attorney General’s office received complaints from members of the public that it was too lenient.
The office has until 1 May – 28 days after Cashman’s sentencing on 3 April – to decide whether to refer the complaint to the Court of Appeal.
Judges there could upgrade his sentence to a whole life order, meaning he will die behind bars.
Cashman was also found guilty of wounding with intent of Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel. Cashman got 10 years for attacking Ms Korbel.
A jury also found him guilty of the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, a convicted drug dealer who he had chased into Olivia’s home before opening fire. Cashman was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 22 years for that offence.
