Cheryl Korbel has said she still blames herself for the death of her nine-year-old daughter Olivia, four years after the shooting in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. In an interview with Metro, she said: 'I do not need an anniversary to mark the day for me. Her absence is felt in everything.'
Olivia was shot and killed on 22 August 2022, when gunman Thomas Cashman fired into her home on Kingsheath Avenue. Cashman had been lying in wait to attack drug dealer Joseph Nee, who had already been shot in the midriff and barged into the house as Cheryl opened the front door. A bullet tore through Cheryl's hand and struck Olivia in the chest as she stood on the stairway screaming, 'I'm scared mummy, I'm scared'. Olivia died that evening at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Family still feels 'her absence in everything'
Four years on, the family is still unsure how they want to spend the day. Seven of them spoke to Metro, crowded over a laptop, with no one wanting to pass up the opportunity to chat about their 'Liv'. The consensus among the group is that Olivia was 'the boss' and a 'force of nature'. On her adored group holidays, she was adamant she would pack her own suitcase and 'dragged' her siblings and friends around for pool games and makeovers.
The last holiday she went on was to Haven in Wales, during the Easter before her death. Her 'absolute favourite things' were Matilda the Musical, mermaid TV show H2O and Netflix. The group laughed as Trish Cowhig, a family friend sitting next to Cheryl, said: 'She spoke so much about Stranger Things I didn't need to bother watching it in the end.'
On the anniversary of her death, they try to do something Olivia would have enjoyed. Gemma Hollingsworth, mum of Olivia's best friend, said: 'We like to see how we are feeling on the day. On the first anniversary we felt a lot of pressure to do something perfect.' This tends to be a family walk, but it can be anything to take the day away from the manner of how she died.
Cheryl's guilt and the family's move
Over the one hour interview, no one refers to Cashman by name. Cheryl still blames herself for her daughter's death. Her family is 'blue in the face' telling her it is not her fault, but she won't hear it. She said: 'What they say doesn't make a difference to me. If I had done something different rather than open the front door, she would still be here.'
Cheryl and her two other children have been unable to stay in their home. It became especially painful for her other daughter, Chloe, who shared a room with Olivia. Tearing up as she began to speak, Chloe said: 'Adjusting to the silence in the bedroom was one of the hardest things I had to do.' The family moved only 10 minutes away, not wanting to leave the tight-knit community which has supported them through the years.
Community support and the fight for justice
Olivia's Auntie Margi said she was in a park when she struck up conversation with a gypsy family and told them what had happened to Olivia. They cried with her, and wouldn't leave her side for the rest of her outing. 'They didn't know me from Adam,' she said. 'But in that moment, they wanted to be my family.'
The area is so connected that they had heard Cashman's name being circulated as the culprit in the month between the attack and his eventual arrest. Merseyside Police said it was the most information they had ever received from the public. The work of Crimestoppers, which ensures anonymity to those who came forward, were on the streets explaining how no one will be treated as a 'grass'. Some even 'risked their families' lives' giving names to investigators to make sure Olivia's killer was found.
One woman, who was having a 'fling' with Cashman, told police he came to her house after Olivia was shot in a panicked state, saying he had 'done Joey', with officers saying they had 'never seen such bravery'. She reportedly told police after coming forward: 'There is no such thing as a grass when it involves a nine-year-old.'
Rebecca Korbel, Olivia's cousin, said: 'The community really said "enough is enough" after Liv's death. A lot of young men are falling into these gangs, not realising the potential damage they can do to families.'
Olivia's law and the family's next steps
Cashman was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison, but Cheryl swears 'as long as I live and breathe, he won't be getting out'. To manage their grief, the family campaigned relentlessly to see criminals forced to attend their sentencing hearings. Cashman had refused to come to his, something which left Olivia's loved ones more confused than outraged. Cheryl said: 'He didn't want to hear our personal statements we had ready, which was heartbreaking.'
They successfully campaigned to have Olivia's law introduced, which will see criminals forced to attend their sentencing hearings. They worked endlessly, meeting Keir Starmer and speaking on live TV. But after it was given Royal Assent in April, and the pace of their work slowed, the family has been left facing what to do next. Cheryl said: 'We want to work hard to make sure people know that silence isn't an option. Liv's killer was eventually caught only after people came forward. But there were still people who knew what happened all that time, who said nothing.'
Their campaign group, Olivia's Butterfly Foundation, has received a boost as the secondary school where most of Olivia's old primary school classmates moved to made it their chosen fundraising choice until her cohort finishes their GCSEs. 'Even though our Liv never ended up going there, they have still been forced to know she is,' Cheryl said. 'She still is a force of nature.'
