Olivia murder accused wore tracksuit bottoms matching the gunmans court hears

The man accused of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel wore tracksuit bottoms matching the style and design of those worn by the gunman, a court has heard.

Thomas Cashman, 34, is accused of killing the nine-year-old and injuring her mother, Cheryl Korbel, 46, after chasing Joseph Nee into their home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.

This week, the jury in his trial at Manchester Crown Court heard evidence from a police officer, the head of design at Foot Asylum and an image analyst about the trousers worn by the gunman.

Image analyst Tessa Macklam told the court on Friday she had been asked to compare a pair of tracksuit bottoms provided by police with trousers worn by Cashman on CCTV and those worn by the shooter in footage.

The court was shown footage of Cashman wearing tracksuit bottoms on the afternoon of the day Olivia was shot and on August 24, as he got into the lift at flats in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Mrs Macklam said it was much more probable than not that the trousers worn by Cashman in Runcorn two days after the shooting were the same style and design as those shown in pictures provided by police.

She said it was “slightly more probable” that the same style trousers were seen on Cashman as he walked around the Dovecot area on the afternoon of August 22.

Ms Macklam also analysed CCTV of the gunman firing shots in the street in Kingsheath Avenue before chasing Mr Nee into Olivia’s family home.

She said: “My observations and markers led me to give the more probable conclusion that they are the same style and design as the reference images due to the quality of imagery, the behaviour of the trim under the same lighting conditions and the clarity of the style of features I am analysing.”

The court has heard the trousers worn by the gunman have been identified as Monterrain tracksuit bottoms.

Head of design at Foot Asylum Jade Holland, who designed the trousers, told the court on Thursday the reflective markings on them made them “quite unique as a garment”.

Mrs Macklam also looked at footwear worn by the gunman and said it was more probable than not that the shoes worn as he fled from the scene were the same as trainers shown worn by Cashman in footage.

John Cooper KC, defending, asked whether the trainers, which featured a Nike swoosh, dark upper and light sole, were a “pretty common pair of trainers”.

Mrs Macklam replied: “It’s not my duty to comment on the commonality of garments.”

Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, Liverpool, denies the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of Mr 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 will continue on Monday.

Published: 17/03/2023 by Radio NewsHub