Three other men arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender bailed, as police continue investigation into child’s death
A 34-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel and attempted murder has been released on conditional bail.
The man, from Liverpool, was one of four people arrested on Sunday. Three other men, aged 29, 34 and 41, suspected of assisting an offender, were also bailed, Merseyside police said on Wednesday.
Olivia was shot by a gunman who forced his way into her family home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool at about 10pm on 22 August.
The assailant was chasing a convicted burglar, Joseph Nee, who had burst into the house when Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, opened her front door to see what the commotion outside was.
Police renewed their plea for information including any CCTV, dashcam or smart doorbell footage that could help inquiries.
A spokesperson said: “The investigation into Olivia’s tragic murder is ongoing and we still need to build up a strong evidential picture so that we can bring those responsible to justice.”
That call was reinforced by separate, highly emotional messages released on Tuesday by Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, and her father, John Francis Pratt.
“You know you’ve done wrong, so you need to own up, like I taught my kids. You do something wrong, you own up to it,” said Cheryl Korbel in a video statement.
“If anyone is hiding these guns, they need to speak up because they need to be off these streets. No one, no one at all should have to go through this.”
Korbel described what she and her daughter, known as Liv, had been up to before the shooting.
“We were organising days out. We were on the summer holidays. We took Liv swimming. We went to Blackpool, just me and Liv. We were talking about going to get a new uniform for school. But I didn’t get that chance to go and get a school uniform.”
She said her daughter was someone who loved life. “She was my little shadow. She went everywhere with me. She loved … well, she didn’t like school, she had to do work. But she loved it because she was there with all her friends.
“Everyone that she met, they all fell in love with her. She left a mark on everyone that she met and she may well have only been nine but she packed a lot in those nine years. She never, never stopped talking and that’s what I miss the most … because I can’t hear her talk.”
Her father said Olivia’s death could not be in vain. He said: “We want people to feel safe and be safe, that can only happen if we all come together and make sure there is no place for guns, or those who use guns on our streets or in our communities.”
Police have praised the public response as “phenomenal” but the appeal still stands, said the assistant chief constable Chris Green. “This is a detailed, complex investigation. Those who were responsible are not coming forward and saying, ‘Right, I was responsible … here you go.’ We need to go and uncover all of the evidence.”
Olivia’s funeral is due to take place at St Margaret Mary’s, the church associated with her school, in Dovecot on 15 September. The family have requested mourners “wear a splash of pink”.
