The mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel has issued a desperate plea to young people, saying: "Think twice before picking up a weapon." Cheryl Pratt-Korbel spoke as the families of four victims of Merseyside shootings in 2022 came together to launch a new police education initiative.
Nine-year-old Olivia was shot by Thomas Cashman, 37, as he chased another drug dealer into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 2022. Cashman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years for her murder. Her mother, Cheryl, was injured in the attack.
It was the third fatal Merseyside shooting in a week, after Ashley Dale, 28, and Sam Rimmer, 22, were killed. On Christmas Eve that year, beautician Elle Edwards, 26, was killed when a gunman fired shots into a group of people outside the Lighthouse pub in Wirral, Merseyside.
Families unite for Dear Merseyside
The parents of the four victims gathered at Olivia's Tree - the memorial in Dovecot, close to where the schoolgirl lived - to launch the Dear Merseyside initiative, named after a poem by Joseph Roberts. Cheryl said: "Hopefully, it makes a big difference and people think twice before even picking a weapon up."
As the anniversary of Olivia's death approached, Cheryl said she had to "take every day as it comes, one step in front of the other". She added: "Olivia should have turned 13 on June 13 2026. She would be in high school with her friends, sharing the excitement of becoming a teenager. Instead, we are left holding the milestones she never got to reach."
Julie Dale, mother of Ashley Dale, said: "Obviously August is a difficult time for us, but I just think every day is difficult." She said the families, who were strangers before the tragedies, had supported each other over the last four years. "We get it, we get what each other are going through. We help each other loads. People can say, 'Oh, we know how you're feeling'. Not until your child's been murdered. No-one knows how you're feeling."
EVOLVE and school resource
In the wake of the murders, Merseyside Police received Home Office funding for a Clear, Hold, Build operation, known locally as EVOLVE. It brings together police, local authorities and other agencies to tackle serious organised crime and create safer neighbourhoods.
In September, the scheme will launch the Dear Merseyside resource in schools and youth organisations, using the families' stories to encourage young people to think differently about violence, exploitation and the choices they make.
In a statement, the families said: "We have chosen to support this resource because we want young people to hear the human stories behind the headlines. We hope they see that every act of violence leaves families, friends and communities living with its consequences forever. If this helps even one young person to think differently, make a better choice or stay safe, it matters."
Det Chief Supt Paul Grounds, head of EVOLVE for Merseyside Police, said: "We are incredibly grateful to the families for helping create a lasting legacy from unimaginable loss. We hope this resource inspires young people across Merseyside to make positive choices, support one another and help build safer, stronger communities for generations to come."
Details of the 2022 killings
Ashley Dale, a 28-year-old council worker, was "deliberately and mercilessly" blasted with a Skorpion sub-machine gun in her home in Old Swan, Liverpool. Her killers had been hunting for her boyfriend Lee Harrison, the intended target of a revenge hit. James Witham, 41, Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, and Joseph Peers, 28, were jailed for life for murder, and also convicted of conspiracy to murder Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon.
Sam Rimmer, 22, was struck by one of eight bullets fired from a sub-machine gun from the back of an electric bike in Dingle, Liverpool, at about 11.40pm. He had been visiting friends in Lavrock Bank, Dingle, when he was caught up in a dispute between two street-level drugs gangs. Merseyside Police believe they have the names of those responsible, have made 10 arrests, but need crucial witnesses to come forward.
Elle Edwards, 26, was killed by gunman Connor Chapman, 23, after he fired a sub-machine gun into a group outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village on Christmas Eve 2022. Thomas Waring, 26, was jailed for nine years in July 2023 for possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping Chapman burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the shooting.
