Man accused of Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murder trying to ‘pull the wool over jury’s eyes’, court hears
The man accused of killing Olivia Pratt-Korbel is trying to “pull the wool over the jury’s eyes”, the prosecution in his trial has claimed.
Meanwhile, the defence has argued that hitmen do not find their target and then “go home for tea”.
Thomas Cashman, 34, is accused of killing the nine-year-old in Liverpool last August as he chased a convicted drug dealer.
In his closing speech on Monday, David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, said it was a “case that shocked not simply a city not too far away from here but also a nation”.
“The news at the time made front-page headlines across the country and this is a case which will live with you forever,” he told the jury of 10 men and two women at Manchester Crown Court.
Olivia Pratt-Korbel
He said Cashman would have the jury believe that the “strands of evidence put forward by the prosecution” are a “series of misunderstood or random, unconnected events, in short simply a multitude of coincidences that don’t point in the direction of his guilt”.
Mr McLachlan said the prosecution’s conclusion is that Cashman is “not the unluckiest man in the world with all these circumstances conspiring against him”.
“He is not the victim of a woman trying to stitch him up for murder. The man in the dock, we submit, is the gunman who shot Olivia and he is not prepared to own it.
“We say – but you will decide – that Thomas Cashman must think that you were all born yesterday.”
He told the jury that they “know better than anyone when someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes; that’s what the prosecution say Thomas Cashman is trying to do”.
Police officers outside Manchester Crown Court for the trial of Thomas Cashman
Mr McLachlan also described Cashman’s evidence as a “dummy’s guide to drug dealing in Dovecot”.
CCTV footage of the moment the shots were fired was shown to the court during the prosecution’s closing speech.
Mr McLachlan said: “The evidence will lead you to the truth.
“The prosecution say he’s not prepared to own it, he never will be, but he knows what the truth is and, with respect, great respect, we respectfully submit that you do too.”
Cashman ‘was not the hitman’, defence says
Meanwhile, John Cooper KC, defending, said the prosecution’s argument that Cashman was acting as a “hitman” on the night of Olivia’s death is not the case.
Pointing to the prosecution’s argument that Cashman was “scoping out” an area to shoot Joseph Nee (the intended target of the attack), Mr Cooper said the Crown’s narrative “doesn’t make sense”.
Thomas Cashman denies the charges against him
The prosecution has argued Cashman saw Nee’s van on several occasions while travelling around the Dovecot area on the day of the shooting.
Mr Cooper told the jury that when hitmen find “their target, they wait for their target, they don’t go home for tea”.
“Why does he [Cashman] behave that way? Because he was not the hitman,” Mr Cooper argued.
“How can the Crown possibly say they put emotion to one side and keep telling you to put emotion to one side when they finished their speech with playing of the horrific CCTV footage, as if you, members of the jury, hadn’t quite got it. Do you feel a little bit insulted by that?
The nine-year-old was killed at her home in Liverpool
“You get it, you get the tragedy, you get the brutality. Let’s give you a bit of respect, you don’t need it played four times.”
Mr Cooper went onto accuse the prosecution of “Cinderella syndrome”, telling the jury: “We’ll force this evidence into a shoe that doesn’t fit and we’ll play the banging video again a couple of times.”
Cashman denies murdering Olivia, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Olivia’s mother, and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The trial continues.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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