'Joseph Nee was my friend': Thomas Cashman gives evidence to Olivia jury for first time

The man accused of shooting Olivia Pratt-Korbel while chasing another man told a jury he was "friends" with the "intended target" Joseph Nee.

Dad-of-two Thomas Cashman, 34, spoke in court for the first time today as the defence started its case, telling the jury he had even visited Mr Nee's mum's house the day before the shooting, on August 22 last year. Mr Cashman accepted he was a "high level" cannabis dealer selling to "people he knew" in the local area, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Olivia, nine, died when a gunman fired a shot which passed through the front door of her family home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, then hit her mum, Cheryl Korbel, in the hand before striking her in the chest. The gunman had initially opened fire on Mr Nee as he walked on the street outside with another man, Paul Abraham, Manchester Crown Court heard.

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Mr Nee was shot twice but managed to run towards the Korbel family home and barged inside while fleeing for his life, prosecutors allege. Mr Cashman denies being the gunman or any involvement in Olivia's death.

Today (March 21) Mr Cashman, wearing a blue knitted jumper over a white shirt, was called to give evidence by his defence counsel, Professor John Cooper, KC. The softly spoken 34-year-old, who was asked to keep his voice up several times, described his upbringing in Huyton and told the jury he was earning "£3,000 to £5,000 per week" selling kilo quantities of cannabis by the time of the shooting.

He said he had started smoking cannabis "every day" by the time he was 16, and then progressed to dealing as he got to around 18. Mr Cooper questioned his client over his relationship with the Nee family and