Who is Paul Russell and what happened to him? Informant who helped Olivia Pratt-Korbel killer Thomas Cashman

Council worker Ashley Dale, 28, was killed when a drug dealer forced his way into her home in Old Swan, Liverpool on August 21, 2022.

Just days later, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead when a gunman forced his way into her family’s Dovecot home.

A new documentary is exploring a police force's pursuit of justice after the deaths of these two innocent victims of gangland disputes. The third episode of Channel 4's Merseyside Detectives: The Murders of Ashley and Olivia follows what happened after a key informant came forward.

Tonight (August 21), viewers will learn how Paul Russell secretly met with police on a retail park days after Olivia's murder and named her killer. It was during this meeting that he "named Tommy Cashman as the person responsible", a court later heard.

READ MORE: What happened to Joseph Nee the intended target in Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder?

Cashman's trial at Manchester Crown Court was told that following Olivia's murder he fled to the home of Russell's partner - who he had been having a secret affair with. She phoned her boyfriend after being woken by the killer at her bedside, the Liverpool Echo reported.

Russell then made the disastrous decision to help the killer, despite knowing he had shot someone. He drove Cashman back to where he had parked his van before heading to the scene of the shooting on foot. Russell also disposed of clothing worn by Cashman, taking it round to the home of an associate of the murderer.

However, Russell and his partner did not know the full extent of Cashman's crime and only learned the following day that a child had died.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip told Russell: "You learnt of Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s death the following morning and appreciated the gravity