The mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel movingly detailed the anguish caused by losing her "beautiful, spunky, chatty girl who never ran out of energy" while holding a patchwork teddy bear constructed from her daughter's pyjamas.
Cheryl Korbel testified in court just before the judge on Monday sentenced Thomas Cashman, the person who killed her daughter, to a minimum of 42 years in prison.
Drug dealer Cashman was found guilty last week of killing Olivia while pursuing another criminal named Joseph Nee with "ruthless pursuit."Olivia's mother spoke while fighting back tears as she expressed her agony at being unable to do CPR on her due to Olivia's injuries.
"I felt powerless. Being apart from Liv and not being there for her when she needed me most was my greatest fear. As her mother, I ought to have been the last to hold my baby girl. Instead, I was the first.I find it incomprehensible that Cashman shot after hearing the horrifying screaming. The complete destruction he's brought around...He is unconcerned. about anyone else or anyone who obstructed her.
Liv was the joy of our lives, a spunky, outspoken youngster with boundless energy, said Korbel.
She had tremendous attributes, was my baby, and had a clear sense of what she wanted out of life.The court was told how Nee and Cashman barged into the family house when Korbel opened her front door to investigate the ruckus.
Before fatally striking Olivia in the chest, Cashman's solitary bullet from his revolver passed through the door, Korbel's wrist, and Olivia.
Ms. Justice Yip noted in sentencing Cashman that the incident "struck not just the city of Liverpool, but the nation."
The judge referred to the events on August 22 of last year as "chilling," adding that they "strike terror not only into the minds of the immediate community, but also into the minds of other youngsters and their parents."
She claimed that there was no mitigating.Yip gave Cashman a mandatory life sentence and stated that he must serve at least 42 years of it, less the 182 days he has already served in custody. Even then, when Cashman becomes 76, the Parole Board will decide whether to let him go.
That night, a piece of me went with her, and ever since then, I've felt as though I'm trapped in a nightmare from which I can't escape.
John Pratt, the father of Olivia, had a statement read on his behalf in which he described his heart as being "forever broken."After the murder, he has been unable to socialise or perform his job well.
Cashman, who had declined to appear in court from his cell inside the facility, did not hear any of the statements.We Are the Champions was chanted by the Crown Prosecution Service after the guilty decision, according to Cashman's lawyer, John Cooper KC. He worries that the situation is becoming a circus, Cooper said.
He continued, "I hope that the 42-year sentence handed down to Cashman today will serve as a warning for anyone who considers purchasing a firearm and endangering our communities via their reckless behaviour.
Following the sentence, Cheryl Korbel also spoke outside the court. She expressed relief that "justice had been served" and thanked the jurors as well as the female witness.
We accept the judgement, but I can only say that my family and I have already begun serving our life sentences by having to live without Olivia.
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