‘We will find you’: Police hunting Olivia Pratt-Korbel gunman say ‘unclear’ if he’s still in country
‘We will find him wherever he goes,’ detective chief superintendent says
The mystery gunman who killed nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel may no longer be in the UK, police have admitted.
Detectives were “unclear at this stage” if the unidentified shooter was still in the country, Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations said at a briefing on Thursday morning.
But he suggested that, while no definitive suspect has been identified, “a number of names” had been provided to the police by the community.
“My message to him remains the same - we will not rest until we find you and we will find you,” he told reporters. “We will find him wherever he goes,” he said.
It remains unclear whether Joseph Nee – the convicted burglar and drug dealer targeted by the killer – was cooperating after he was arrested while in hospital.
But a second man who was with Nee has now been identified. A third man, who was driving the Audi C3 which picked Nee up after the violence has also been questioned, although not arrested.
Speaking about the gunman, Mr Kameen said: “Our officers continue to carry out extensive inquiries and I can confirm there are a number of lines of inquiry we are pursuing.”
He added that much information had been provided by people in Dovecot: “I cannot stress enough the importance of community engagement in solving each of these crimes,” he added.
But he declined to comment on suggestions that Nee may have been known to Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel.
Schoolgirl Olivia was shot dead in her own home by the unknown hitman. The killer was chasing Nee who had burst into little Olivia’s home after her mother, Cheryl, opened the front door because she is thought to have heard a disturbance outside.
The killing, on Monday – in the city’s Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot – occurred following a spate of violence in the city which has seen three people killed in a week.
Council worker, Ashley Dale, 28, was shot at an address in the Old Swan area in a suspected case of mistaken identity. A man has now been arrested on suspicion of murder in that case, while a woman has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Sam Rimmer, 22, was shot dead in the Dingle area on 16 August with three people since arrested.
Police say they do not believe the killings are linked but are keeping an “open mind”.
An outpouring of grief has occurred following the killings. Teddies and flowers have been left at the scene of Olivia’s home.
Olivia’s family have said they hope her photo will “haunt” the killer “for the rest of your days”.
In a Facebook post, her uncle, Peter Korbel, said he would “remember this picture of my beautiful niece with happiness and price…this tiny cheeky little girl with the Korbel attitude thrown in and then some”.
He added: “To the scum that’s done this … this picture is going to haunt you for the rest of your days.”
DCS Kameen urged the public to continue sending in information, either through Merseyside Police’s website or by anonymously calling Crimestoppers, in relation to Olivia’s shooting.
“I am incredibly grateful for the sheer levels and volume of information that we have received so far,” he said.
“This level of engagement, this level of cooperation, and this level of working together simply must continue.”