Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother backs no-show killers campaign

Olivia, nine, was murdered by Thomas Cashman

The mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel is supporting a campaign to force criminals to attend sentencing hearings.

Cheryl Korbel, whose daughter was shot by Thomas Cashman chasing a drug dealer into her home, says the first step to rehabilitation is "in that court room".

Cashman, 34, refused to attend when he was jailed for life in April.

Ms Korbel says she wants him to hear her impact statement "to understand the pain he's caused".

But she believes he did not attend his sentencing hearing because "he's a coward".

She wants the law to change so other families do not have to go through "the pain that we went through and the pain that we're still going through".

The family supports a petition calling for a change in the law, which has received more than 22,000 signatures.

Ms Korbel said she would be willing to meet the prime minister to discuss it "if that's what it takes".

"It's one thing listening to what we've got to say on the TV or radio, it's completely different when you're face-to-face," she said.

Cheryl Korbel said she wanted Cashman to hear her impact statement

Olivia was fatally shot by Cashman as he chased a fellow drug dealer into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on the evening of 22 August 2022.

He also injured Ms Korbel as she tried to stop the two men, whom the family did not know, from entering the house.

At his sentencing hearing, Cashman refused to enter the dock before he was jailed for life with a minimum 42-year term, a move that the judge said was "disrespectful" to Olivia's family.

Ms Korbel told BBC Breakfast: "Attending the trial every day, we had to re-live that night over and over.

'We had no voice'

"We had no voice right through the trial, so when it came to the day of sentencing that was our time to have our voice with the impact statements to the offender - and he didn't turn up.

"I wanted to address him and I think that's why he never came up because he would have been able to see me, but I know for a fact he wouldn't have looked at me."

She said "the first port of call" for rehabilitation "is in that court room to stand and listen to the judge, but they should be listening to the families as well" to give the families "closure".

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has previously said that as a result of cases like Cashman's and that of Jordan McSweeney, who murdered law graduate Zara Aleena, it was looking into changing the law to force offenders "to face the consequences of their actions" at their sentencing hearings.

Addressing Ms Korbel's concerns, an MoJ spokesman said: "We're committed to bringing forward legislation to enable offenders to be compelled to attend their sentencing hearing.

"Offenders who rob innocents, betray lives and shatter families should be required to face the consequences of their actions and hear society's condemnation expressed through the sentencing remarks of the judge."