A “life-changing” cash reward could provide the breakthrough for police trying to catch the killer of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbell, a former chief constable has said.
Today marks a week since the schoolgirl was shot dead in what is believed to be a botched gangland assassination attempt in Liverpool.
A 35-year-old man, named locally as convicted burglar and drug dealer Joseph Nee, forced his way into Olivia’s home while fleeing a gunman at around 10pm.
The hitman continued to fire as Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel tried to close the door and a bullet passed through her wrist, hitting her daughter in the chest, detectives believe.
Merseyside Police launched a huge manhunt assisted by forces from across the country and two men, aged 36 and 33, have been arrested on suspicion of murder, although both have since been released on bail.
The 36-year-old, from the Huyton area of Merseyside, has been returned to prison for breaching the terms of his licence.
Detectives say they have received several names of potential suspects from the public but now need more help to build up a “strong evidential picture”.
The name of one man has been circulating the Dovecot area consistently since the shocking crime occurred last Monday.
He has convictions for armed robbery and has brothers in prison for serious drug dealing offences, i understands.
Merseyside Police have confirmed they believe those involved are linked to organised crime amid fears that the killer may be protected by a ‘no grass’ culture.
It is understood the target of the shooting, Mr Nee, has yet to cooperate with police.
Former chief of Greater Manchester Police Peter Fahy said a cash reward could be one way of getting the evidence needed to solve the case, but a large figure would be required.
“The difficulty with what they’ve got in Liverpool is finding a way to keep it in the news,” he told i.
“In terms of a reward there’s two things we could be talking about – someone comes up and says they saw a car, or a changeover, or something like that, and somebody with proper information which might lead to conviction, I would say it would have to be a life-changing amount of money for what that person would have to do.
“It might work – but they will keep doing these different things to keep it in the news, and to show the public and the family they are doing everything they can.”
Although cash rewards are often offered by police investigating murders, they are rarely claimed in gangland killings.
When father Lee Erdmann was shot in a pub in Salford in front of at least thirty people in 2011, for example, detectives offered a £50,000 reward and witness protection to anyone willing to give evidence but no one came forward.
Dr Robert Hesketh, a criminologist at Liverpool John Moores University who carries out research into Merseyside gangs, says there will be even more pressure on witnesses given the circumstances of Olivia’s death.
“I think if it goes on long enough they could offer a reward,” he told i.
“But someone would have to be brave to come forward and take it.
“If the name of the shooter can get out, then the name of the person who collected the reward will too.
“And if you’re that person you’re up the creek really, they would have to get out the area.
“Would they want to live looking over their shoulder all the time? Regardless of what the police can do.”
In a renewed video appeal issued on last night, Merseyside Police said anyone withholding information is “protecting” the killers of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
It said: “We’ve got parents who’ve lost their children.
“We’ve got a nine-year-old girl who won’t celebrate her 18th birthday. She won’t celebrate her wedding. She won’t have children of her own.
“If you’ve got information and you’re withholding it, you’re protecting the killers. We need your information. Provide that information to us and we’ll do the rest.”