Police told Olivia’s killer that officers will ‘not rest until we find you, and we will find you’
Police investigating the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel on Thursday announced significant developments in relation to a number of recent murders in Liverpool.
Detective Chief Superintendant Mark Kameen said that three arrests had been made on suspicion of murder in relation to the murder of Sam Rimmer on August 16. The men have been released on bail.
A man and a woman have also been arrested in relation to the shooting of 28-year-old Ashley Dale on Sunday. The man also been arrested on suspicion of murder. The woman, for assisting an offender.
Kameen said police were following a “number of very positive lines of inquiry” in the investigation into the murder of Olivia.
He confirmed that the man responsible for the “brutal, callous, thoughtless” attack had not surrendered, as police had requested, and said police will “not rest until we find you, and we will find you”.
Kameen said the 35-year-old man shot during the incident, Joseph Nee, remains in hospital and will be returned to prison once his “treatment is finalised”.
He said the second man with Nee when the incident unfolded, shortly before 10pm on Monday, had now been identified.
Olivia was killed when a gunman opened fire through the door of her home in Kingsheath Avenue in the Knotty Ash area of Liverpool around 10pm on Monday, while chasing Nee, a convicted drug dealer.
Nee suffered gunshot wounds and Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, was shot in the wirst.
Olivia was remembered by her head teacher, Rebecca Wilkinson of St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School in Huyton, as a “joyful” person who “would always try to help others”.
She said Thursday that the school was in “shock and disbelief” over the shooting and the teachers were “devastated” and “can’t imagine how the children are going to feel when they come back to school and she’s no longer here”, the BBC reported.
In a statement, Wilkinson said Olivia was “kind-hearted and would go out of her way to help others”.
“She loved to perform and recently participated in the school production of The Wizard of Oz,” she said. “Olivia will be missed greatly by staff and children at our school.”
Nee, the intended victim of the shooting, pushed his way into Olivia’s home, when the tragedy unfolded.
Merseyside Police have not publicly identified Nee, but said a man had been detained and would be interviewed.
Neither Nee nor the gunman have any links with Olivia’s family.
Nee has previously been jailed for drug offences and in 2018, was sentenced to three years and nine months for burglary.
Merseyside Police said on Wednesday that a 35-year-old man injured in the shooting would be recalled to prison for allegedly breaching the terms of his licence conditions with “poor behaviour”.
The force said the man, in a stable condition, had been detained in hospital and would be “further questioned” in connection with Olivia’s death.
On Tuesday, police detailed how the shooting unfolded.
Detective Chief Superintendant Mark Kameen said around 10pm, two men were walking along Kingsheath Avenue, when they were approached by a lone person, wearing a black padded jacket, balaclava and gloves.
Kameen said the person, who was around 5ft 7 tall and of slim build, was carrying a handgun and fired shots at the men who then ran away.
Olivia’s mother, Kameen said, then opened the door to see what was going on, when one of the men, the 35-year-old, forced his way inside.
“The man being chased forced his way into Olivia’s house and the offender ran in after him firing a number of shots with complete disregard for Olivia and her family, who had no connection with the gunman or the man who forced his way in, ” he said.
“Sadly Olivia was fatally wounded when the gunman fired at the man who was trying to get into the house. And her mum also suffered a gunshot to her wrist.”
Olivia was shot in the chest. She was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
Her shooting happened on 15th anniversary of the death of Rhys Jones, an 11-year-old boy who was shot as he walked home from football practice in the city and is the third fatal shooting of a young person in Liverpool in less than a week.
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