Ten minutes that saw Paul Russell's 'world fall apart' following Thomas Cashman killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel
A man jailed for helping Thomas Cashman cover up the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel told detectives he was no friend of the killer. Paul Russell has been locked up for 22 months following his actions in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The 41-year-old disposed of Cashman's clothing and drove him back to his van following the fatal shooting of nine-year-old Olivia, the Liverpool Echo reports. But in his police interview, Russell insisted he "didn't want to drop him off", telling cops: "I don't like him anyway."
Liverpool Crown Court heard extracts from conversations Russell had with police on August 28 last year, six days on from the killing of Olivia on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot, Liverpool. In an extract read by Henry Riding, prosecuting, the court heard Russell describing the moment he received a phone call from his girlfriend.
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He said: "When she phoned me, my heart. My world just fell apart. I don't like him anyway."
Cashman gained entry via the open back door of the property while his partner was asleep, with Russell saying: "If I could turn the back the clock now, I'd have locked the door. He was there for five or 10 minutes while I was there and was gone."
Of attending the address and seeing Cashman there, Russell said: "I didn't wanna see him to be fair. Devastated." He said he had known the murderer "for years", but added: "We're not like friends or nothing like that. Why's he trust me? I'm not his mate or nothing."
About events at the house while Cashman was there, Russell said: "I'm not sure if he said 'can I do a joint?'. I'm not sure. See look, I just wanted him out me house. That was it.
"That was my main objective, I didn't want him in. I