‘Help catch the killer who took our baby away from us’: Olivia’s family call on help from public
The family of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot in her home in Liverpool, have appealed for people to ‘do the right thing’ to help find out ‘who took our baby away from us’.
In a moving tribute, paid just hours after her heart-broken mum was discharged from hospital following treatment for gunshot wounds, the distraught family honoured the much-loved youngster.
The family said in a statement said: ‘Liv was a unique, chatty, nosey little girl who broke the mould when she was born. She loved life and all it had to offer.
‘Liv loved dressing up and was very particular on how she was dressed, like any other little girl she loved doing her makeup and nails, she was nine going on 19.
‘Liv was adored by everyone who knew her and would instantly make friends with anyone and everyone. She was often seen going up and down the street on her new bike she had just got for her birthday.
‘Although her life was short, her personality certainly wasn’t and she lived it to the most she could, and would blow people away with her wit and kindness.
‘We as a family are heartbroken and have lost a huge part of our life.
‘If anyone knows anything, now is the time to speak up. It is not about being a ‘snitch’ or a ‘grass’ it is about finding out who took our baby away from us. PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING.
‘We as a family are eternally grateful for the help and support we have received from people across the world.
‘We are also thankful to Merseyside police for the outstanding work and to the staff at Alder Hey and Aintree hospitals.’
Police investigating the shooting of Olivia today warned her killer: ‘We will not rest until we find you and we will find you’ – amid claims the atrocity could have been sparked by a £1million cocaine robbery.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, said the force was pursuing a ‘number of very positive lines of enquiry’ in relation to Monday’s murder. He said it was unclear if the gunman had fled overseas and added ‘we have had a number of names provided to us’.
Addressing the killer, he said: ‘My message remains the same – we will not rest until we find you and we will find you.’
Convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, 35, has been named as the intended target of the shooting that also left Olivia’s mother wounded. He forced his way into her family home while trying to flee a masked gunman. While Olivia lay dying in her mother’s arms, Nee – who was also shot – was taken to hospital by his friends in a black Audi.
Mr Kameen said detectives were speaking to a man who was with Nee at the time of the shooting. He also said the driver of the Audi had been found and spoken to by police. Mr Kameen said Nee – who police have never publicly named – remained in hospital for treatment and would be returned to prison for breaching his licence. Olivia’s mother Cheryl was now out of hospital after receiving medical treatment.
Meanwhile, two people have been arrested following the fatal shooting of council worker Ashley Dale in Old Swan, Liverpool, on Sunday. The 28-year-old, who worked in the environmental health team at Knowsley Council, was found fatally wounded in the back garden of a house. It is believed that Ms Dale was not the intended victim.
The family of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, aged nine, who was shot and killed in her home, have called on the public to help find out ‘who took our baby away from us’
In a heartfelt statement, just hours after Olivia’s mother was discharged from hospital following treatment for gunshot wounds, her family described the nine-year-old as ‘adored by everyone who knew her’
Tributes and flowers have poured in since Olivia’s death. Pictured: A little girl with her mum looks at the flowers laid down for the nine-year-old who was shot
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sam Rimmer, 22, who was shot in Dingle, Liverpool, on Tuesday, August 16 in the third Liverpool gun killing in less than two weeks.
It comes amid speculation Olivia’s murder was the result of a ‘tit for tat’ gang feud which saw Nee targeted after one of the groups robbed the other of £1million worth of cocaine. A drugs stash house in Croxdale Road West, close to the house where Olivia lived with her two older siblings, was raided in May 2020 by four men armed with an axe and a baton.
Richard Caswell and Manchester-based brothers Jason and Craig Cox burst into the property and beat a father and son looking after the drugs before taking 30kg of cocaine. Some of the drugs were then sold to Leon Atkinson, a criminal associate of police killer Dale Cregan – it is claimed. The robbery shocked Liverpool’s underworld because the gang who owned the drugs were previously thought of as untouchable.
A Liverpool underworld source told The Sun: ‘The guys that lost the £1m of drugs are the top of the criminal tree in Liverpool. No one could believe anyone would try and rip them off. The cops managed to crack the case by getting into their encrypted phones and some were jailed in May.
‘But the Liverpool gang are still furious about it and have been going after anyone they think was involved. The word is that Nee gathered some information for them.’
Last night it emerged that a relative of Nee had a post on their Facebook account showing next to a caption calling police ‘scum’ and adding, ‘Snitches get stitches’. It is not clear when the post was published.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, said the force was pursuing a ‘number of very positive lines of enquiry’ in relation to Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murder
Addressing the gunman, Mr Kameen said: ‘My message to him remains the same – we will not rest until we find you and we will find you’
Convicted burglar Joseph Nee, 35, has been named as the intended target of the shooting that also left Olivia’s mother wounded
The officer also said two people have been arrested following the fatal shooting of council worker Ashley Dale in Old Swan, Liverpool, on Sunday
Last night a CCTV video emerged showing the sound of four gunshots coming from Olivia’s home on the night of her murder
It comes amid speculation Olivia’s murder was the result of a ‘tit for tat’ gang feud which saw Nee targeted after one of the groups robbed the other of £1million worth of cocaine. Richard Caswell and Manchester-based brothers Jason (left) and Craig (right) Cox burst into the property and beat a father and son looking after the drugs before taking 30kg of cocaine
Wellwishers raise more than £20,000 for Olivia’s shattered family
Thousands of pounds have been raised to help Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s grieving family.
The fundraiser reads: ‘We are raising [money] to help the family with this tragic loss.
‘We can’t imagine the pain they’re all going through and want to help in any way we can. Let’s give this little angel the send off she deserves.’
The total amount raised already stands at more than £20,000 – breaking the original target.
Click HERE to donate.
Mr Kameen today urged the public to continue sending in information, either through their website or by calling Crimestoppers, in relation to the shooting of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool.
He said: ‘I am incredibly grateful for the sheer levels and volume of information that we have received so far. This level of engagement, this level of cooperation, and this level of working together simply must continue.’
He added: ‘I’d like to reassure our communities that are working relentlessly on each of these murder investigations.’
Neighbours have previously said the attack could be connected to a shooting at a children’s playground yards from Olivia’s home two weeks ago, where gunmen riding in a car shot at a man on an electric bike.
One local claimed: ‘It was the same people involved in the shooting a few weeks ago in Akers Hall park. We know it was. It is two rival gangs chasing after each other.’
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley suggested a gangster serving life in jail was behind the spate of violence that led to Olivia’s killing.
‘I have been told by a source I consider reliable that much of this violence is being orchestrated by a man who is currently in prison but unfortunately has access to mobile phones and has considerable influence from behind a cell door,’ he told the Mirror.
‘Sadly, the trail of evidence for this will lead back to the illegal drugs industry. If you have a business dispute in an illegal industry you can’t go to court to have a resolution, you have to revert to violence.’
Meanwhile, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy, said cracking the case would ‘be down to a lucky piece of information from the public’, adding: ‘Sometimes another criminal gang will see [it] to their advantage, in a way, to pass forward information which might lead to the disruption of another criminal gang.’
Last night a man who identified himself as Nee’s brother answered the door at the family home. Asked if he would elaborate on Nee’s injuries, he said: ‘It’s none of your business’, adding that the family would ‘tell the police’ if they had any useful information.
Olivia was killed in a horrific shooting in her home in Liverpool. Her two older siblings were also at home at the time
Olivia’s mother Cheryl was discharged from hospital after receiving medical treatment, and was being supported by police
Olivia (with her mother, Cheryl) was the random victim of a gun battle that saw the shooter barge his way into her family home and open fire with ‘complete disregard’ for anyone inside
Police revealed that the intended victim’s friends picked him up in an Audi and took him to hospital – leaving Olivia to die
Forensic experts continue to examine the scene of the shooting in Kingsheath Avenue, Liverpool on Wednesday
Nee, who also lives in Dovecote, was previously part of an organised criminal gang that were sentenced to 10 years in jail in total for a string of burglaries across North West England – and were caught after he led police on an 125mph chase across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Photographs of a topless Nee in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared on Instagram by an accomplice, show him standing in the sun with a group of men as he bragged about life behind bars in captions which reportedly read ‘butlins with bars’ and ‘costa del kirkham’.
‘Butlins with bars’: How career criminal shot in Olivia horror flaunted his cushy time in jail
Posing topless in the sunshine, Joseph Nee could almost be at a summer barbecue.
But this photo was actually taken in prison – leading it to be dubbed ‘Butlins with bars’.
Nee and fellow inmates were caught bragging about their cushy life in photos that were posted on Instagram.
Photographs of a topless Nee (furthest left) in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared onto Instagram by a drug gang baron, showed him bragging about life behind bars and relaxing alongside fellow prisoners in the warm weather
Basking in the hot weather, the criminals smiled for the pictures at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire. Poking fun at how nice their time inside has been, the pictures were captioned ‘Butlins with bars’ and ‘Costa del Kirkham’.
The 2019 photos were unearthed by the Liverpool Echo newspaper – they are believed to have been shared from an Instagram account associated with one of the men.
Posing alongside convicted burglar Nee was a prisoner who was part of a ‘ruthless’ gang that stabbed and battered an innocent bystander, and snatched £150,000 from cash machines in smash-and-grab raids across Merseyside.
Kirkham is an open prison which houses 650 men in 24 units. Each unit has a phone and a kitchen, and prisoners have access to a gym and snooker and pool tables.
In 2009, Nee was jailed for six-and-a-half years for serving as a ‘trusted foot soldier’ in a drugs gang that help push heroin and crack cocaine onto the streets of Liverpool.
Offenders with shorter sentences are entitled to automatic release at the halfway point of their term and can be recalled if they get into trouble with the police to complete the remainder of their original sentence.
Amid mounting fury over the killings, Kieran Mullan, Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich, told MailOnline last night: ‘The reality is it is a relatively small number of persistent and determined criminals responsible for making the rest of us suffer and, of course, horrendously on this occasion.
‘If early work to get them to turn away from a life of crime doesn’t work, the longer they spend in jail the better for the rest of us.’
Police say Nee saw a ‘chink of light’ as Ms Korbel opened the door after hearing the noise outside.
Two sources are thought to have come forward and given the same name of the masked gunman to Merseyside Police as of this morning.
Liverpool City Council councillor Barbara Murray, for Yew Tree ward, said that she or any of her colleagues would be willing to pass on any information anonymously.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We are more than happy to liaise and be that person and we can pass on information, but there are other agencies. It doesn’t really matter – go to someone you trust, and tell them what you know. And we will protect you. No one will reveal who you are.’
Neighbours have now suggested that the attack may have been connected to a shooting at a children’s playground just yards from Olivia’s home on August 8 – just two weeks ago – where gunmen riding a dark-coloured car shot at a man on an electric bike. Nobody has been arrested for the incident.
One local said: ‘They were just innocent people – that’s what makes it 10 times worse. They were quiet, respectable people. Knowing someone has been shot just because she opened the door. It’s not right. It was the same people involved in the shooting a few weeks ago in Akers Hall park. We know it was. It is two rival gangs chasing after each other.’
A woman in her 50s told The Telegraph: ‘It was the same people involved in the shooting the other week, the same car involved. It is just tit for tat. Pointless.’
Olivia’s death is the third fatal shooting in Liverpool in less than a week, and it comes after a council worker was killed 48 hours ago. Chillingly, Olivia was killed 15 years to the day after 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead in Croxteth.
Tributes have now flooded in for Olivia, who attended St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School. A card with messages written in children’s handwriting was left with a bunch of flowers at the scene of the killing. One message read: ‘I will miss you.’
Olivia was the tragic victim of suspected gang land shooting in Liverpool after she was left for dead after being gunned down in her own home
Two wellwishers are pictured with a heart balloon as they pay their respects to the tragic schoolgirl on Wednesday
Children are seen sitting in the road on Kingsheath Avenue in front of forensics officers
A woman lays flowers in memory of Olivia Pratt-Kobel on Kingsheath Avenue on August 25, 2022 in Liverpool,
Floral tributes are laid in memory of Olivia Pratt-Kobel on Kingsheath Avenue on August 25
Olivia Pratt-Kobel, 9, was killed when a gunman opened fire after entering her home on Monday night in the Dovecot area of Liverpool. Pictured: Aman lays flowers in memory of Olivia Pratt-Kobel on Kingsheath Avenue on August 25, 2022 in Liverpool, England
A large collection of floral tributes, as well as balloons, cards and notes have been left near to Olivia’s home in Kingsheath Avenue
The gunman who shot Olivia was chasing Joseph Nee, a convicted burglar out of prison on licence, and followed him into the house firing indiscriminately killing Olivia and injuring her mother. Pictured: A woman and young girl view floral tributes left in memory of Olivia Pratt-Kobel
A message from Olivia’s aunt Kim and uncle Tony read: ‘RIP baby girl , can’t believe what has happened, feels like a nightmare. We will miss you so much our sassy queen. Love aunty Kim and uncle Tony.’
Another said: ‘To Olivia, I’m sorry you’re gone.’ A pink star-shaped balloon was also left at the police cordon with ‘Olivia. RIP. We love you’ written on.
Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy appealed to ‘members of the criminal fraternity’ to ‘examine their consciences’ and identify Olivia’s killer.
She said: ‘They will have vital information that can help us. The killing of a nine-year-old child is an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary, and I would urge them to do the right thing so we can put this person behind bars.’
Olivia’s headteacher Rebecca Wilkinson said: ‘Our school community is devastated at the sad loss of Olivia. We are in shock and disbelief at such tragic news.
‘Olivia was a much loved member of our school. She had a beautiful smile, a lovely sense of humour, and a bubbly personality. She 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.
‘Olivia will be missed greatly by staff and children at our school. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this extremely sad time.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the ‘horrific, senseless shooting’, calling it an ‘unimaginable tragedy’, and promising Merseyside Police ‘whatever they need to catch those responsible and secure justice for Olivia’. Home Secretary Priti Patel said Merseyside Police has her ‘full support’.
Forensic officers near to the scene in Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, Liverpool, where police enquiries are continuing
An aerial view of the scene on Kingsheath Avenue, showing a cordon around a house which has also taped off the road
Last night Olivia’s cousin Rebecca promised to get justice for ‘our little Liv’ in an emotional Facebook tribute.
She said: ‘We haven’t just lost ‘Our Liv’, we’ve lost a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin and a granddaughter. Our little Liv who was full of life, full of sass and most definitely knew what she wanted in life. You had so much potential and a full life to lead beautiful.’
She added: ‘We WILL find who did this and we WILL get justice for you baby girl… Let’s put this into action and get these weapons off our street’s… No other child should have to lose their lives to these senseless crimes.’
Ms Dale was the first woman to be murdered with a gun in Liverpool since 22-year-old mother Lucy Hargreaves was shot dead on her sofa by three masked men as her children, aged nine months, two, and five, slept upstairs. Her murderer has never been brought to justice.
There were 211 firearms offences on Merseyside from April 2021 to March 2022 compared to 140 the year before – a rise of 51 per cent.
However, the figures have been distorted by a drop in Covid, with the 227 firearms offences in 2019 to 2020 comparable to this year’s figure.
Longer term . In July, police said the number of reports of weapons being discharged was at a 20-year low.’
‘One in a million’: Cousin of shooting victim Olivia Pratt-Korbel shares heartbreaking videos of playful and happy nine-year-old describing her as the ‘funniest and politest’ girl who ‘always had a smile on her face’
The heartbroken family of Olivia Pratt-Korbel who was shot dead in her home in Liverpool have shared poignant videos of the playful nine-year-old as they describe her as ‘one in a million’.
Olivia was gunned down by a balaclava-clad gangster who also wounded the nine-year-old’s mother Cheryl while chasing a drug-dealing rival into her family home on Monday, in a sickening bloodbath that has appalled the nation.
In a tribute shared online accompanied by touching videos of the youngster, cousin Luke Korbel described Olivia as ‘our little angel’.
He wrote: ‘What the f**** the world come to ay, would never even think of wishing any of this on me worst enemy, the most cleverest 9 year old your going to get [sic].
‘Had the brain like an 18 year old she did, most funniest and politest always had a smile on her face we all know you will keep smiling up there, your going to be missed be each and every single one of us you really are Liv.’
The tribute was accompanied by a series of videos taken by Luke with Olivia which showed the smiling nine-year-old playing with her cousin and opening presents on Christmas.
In one video, Luke films himself having fun with young Olivia and getting her to say phrases to the camera including ‘cheese’, ‘vote labour’ and ‘yes our kid’.
In another video, Olivia can be seen opening Christmas presents and excitedly shouts: ‘Look what I’ve got!’
The cousin of Olivia Pratt-Korbel shared videos of the playful youngster in a tribute that described her as one in a million
In a second post, Luke added: ‘Look at that smile, one in a million you was, you had your whole life ahead of you, 2 weeks time you would of been going to back to school to start a new year with all your friends.
‘Just feels like I’m stuck in a dream doesn’t feel real one bit. 9 YEARS YOUNG and taken from us all heartbreaking isn’t the word for it.
‘Hearing everyone’s stories that they had with you, seeing pictures on near every post or notification it just doesn’t feel real there is no words at all how does it happen man.
‘I hope your riding your bike high up there just like you would of always been doing I love you cuz. We won’t stop fighting ever, Forever our little angel.’
