31 March 2023 , 18:00
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Three unsolved murders said to be linked to Thomas Cashman should be re-investigated, a relative of one of the victims has said.
The Mirror has spoken to several sources who say nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s killer had allegedly been a suspect in the shootings of Nick Ayers, Karl Bradley and Blake Brown.
And one relative said after Cashman, 34, had been arrested over Olivia’s death, they had heard he might be connected to their loved one’s own.
They added: “It was an emotional day when we heard the news from court.
“Happy for Olivia’s family and sad at the same time.
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“You never get over something like that. We talk about before and after it happened. Living in the community makes you very suspicious.
Nick Ayers was shot dead in a suspected gangland ht in Liverpool in 2010 (liverpool echo)“The killer might now be in jail but we still don’t have answers. It’s not just one person. Who gave them the gun, who gave the orders? But we need evidence.
“Maybe this might mean other people with information will now speak out. The police need to investigate all these murders.”
Underworld sources said Cashman was linked to the murder of dad-of-two Mr Ayers, 46, who was shot dead in West Derby, Liverpool on April 29 2010.
The Sunday league football manager was hit seven times at close range outside his mother-in-law’s home in a suspected gangland hit.
His eldest daughter heard the shots and looked out of the window to see her dad lying on the ground.
Karl Bradley's dead body was discovered covered in snow in a garden (Liverpool Echo)A number of people were arrested and the name of the suspected killer was reportedly passed to police but nobody has ever been charged.
In March 2013, Cashman was said to have been suspected of involvement in the murder of Mr Bradley a few hundred metres from Mr Ayers’ home.
His body was found covered in snow in a West Derby garden.
Detectives believe Mr Bradley, 31, was shot dead when a stray bullet went through the window of a nearby house where two children were sleeping.
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Blake Brown was shot in the head in Liverpool in 2016 (Liverpool Echo)
Olivia Pratt-Korbel died after she was shot in the chest by Cashman (PA)Det Chief Insp Neil Clark said: “It was very lucky that the reckless actions of these people did not [kill] a member of this innocent family.”
Mr Bradley was the brother of gangster Kirk Bradley, who is serving a life sentence.
Kirk and partner in crime Tony Downes had escaped from a prison van on the way to Liverpool Crown Court.
They orchestrated a wave of shootings and grenade attacks across Merseyside but later fell out.
A final murder linked to Cashman is that of Mr Brown, 30, who was shot in the head in what has been described as a professional and sophisticated attack.
Mr Brown was blasted three times by two men armed with handguns and dressed in black, in Aigburth, Liverpool, on the night of October 24, 2016.
Cashman faces life with a minimum of 30 years when he is sentenced for Olivia’s murder on Monday.