EXCLUSIVE: Intended target of gunman who murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel will be freed from jail next month – despite being a ‘professional criminal involved in organised crime’

• Joseph Nee, 36, was shot in the chest and ran into the Liverpool home of Olivia
• Nee had been part way through a 45-month sentence handed to him in 2018 
• Read more: How Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s shocking murder has rocked Merseyside 

The intended target in Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s sickening murder will be released from prison next month – despite being labelled a ‘professional criminal with an involvement in organised crime.’

Joseph Nee, 36, was shot in the chest and chased into the Liverpool home of Olivia, nine, by drug dealing hitman Thomas Cashman in August last year.

As Cashman fired towards Nee, the schoolgirl was shot in the chest, killing her, as she stood next to her mother Cheryl in the hallway of their home.

Cashman, 34, was yesterday found guilty of the sickening murder that shocked and appalled the nation.

During his trial, the court was told of his intended target Nee’s long criminal history, his links to drug dealing and organised crime and how his family had their enemies.

Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel who was fatally shot at her home in Kingsheath Avenue, Liverpool, in August 2022

Joseph Nee (left), 36, was shot in the chest and chased into the Liverpool home of Olivia, nine, by drug dealing hitman Thomas Cashman (right) in August 2022

Police investigating Olivia’s murder arrested Nee, who lived near Olivia’s home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool and he was recalled to prison for breaching the terms of his parole licence.

Nee had been part way through a 45-month sentence handed to him in 2018 for burglary.

He was on parole when he was ambushed by Cashman who shot dead Olivia.

Career criminal Nee had spent time in prison throughout his life for a host of serious crimes including drug offences, burglary and theft.

On December 2, the Parole Board assessed the recall and had the option of recommending his release again if it considered he was not a danger to the public.

However the panel decided he would remain in jail for the remainder of his sentence following a review of the case.

Photographs of a topless Nee (furthest left) in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared onto Instagram by a drug gang baron, showed him bragging about life behind bars and relaxing alongside fellow prisoners in the warm weather

Nine-year-old Olivia was senselessly and callously murdered by a masked gunman in Liverpool in 2022

Nee chose not to appeal the decision and remained in prison where he believed he was safer than on the outside, MailOnline has learned.

A source said: ‘Nee knows he is a marked man on the outside so decided to accept the Parole Board’s decision. He is safer in prison at the moment.’

MailOnline has obtained Nee’s Parole Board notes, which explains the chronology of his release and a timeline leading up to Olivia’s murder on August 22 last year.

The written summary of the Parole Board’s decision is a withering indictment of Nee’s criminal history and his claims that he was an ‘innocent’ victim of a random shooting.

It states: ‘On November 20, 2020, Mr Nee was released at the automatic release point in his sentence as is required by the law.

‘His licence was revoked and he was recalled on the 23 August 2022 and was returned to custody on the 29 September 2022.

‘The recall decision followed an incident where Mr Nee was chased by a gunman, an in effort to escape, forced his way into a private home that was not connected to him.

‘Mr Nee was pursued into the property, the gunman fired several shots, injuring Mr Nee and the female occupant of the property, and, tragically, killing a nine-year-old girl.

Several police cars pictured on Kingsheath Avenue as officers continued to hunt the gunman responsible for Olivia’s death in August 2022

‘Mr Nee has said that he was an innocent victim in the events that led to his recall.’

The Parole Board summary states that Nee had most likely gone right back to his life of organised crime upon his early release on licence.

It adds: ‘The panel was satisfied that it was likely that Mr Nee had remained involved with organised crime on licence and that he had been the intended target of a gangland shooting.

‘Given the circumstances, the panel found the decision to recall him to custody at this time had been appropriate.’

The summary continues with stark assessment of Nee’s deep involvement with drugs gangs and organised crime in and around Merseyside.

It states: ‘The panel considered Mr Nee to be accurately described as a professional criminal with an involvement in organised crime.

‘His involvement in serious offending, including gang related violence, is relevant to risk in this case.

‘The panel considered his impulsivity, poor decision making and his difficulties in coping with problems to be further areas of risk.

Undated photo of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead at her home in Liverpoolby Thomas Cashman in 2022

Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 9, was the tragic victim of suspected gang land shooting in Liverpool after she was left for dead after being gunned down in her own home. Nee had been shot before he ran into her house 

‘There was no support for Mr Nee’s release in the reports within the dossier.

Read more: The champagne lifestyle of Olivia’s killer and his ‘gangster’s moll’: Drug dealer Thomas Cashman and his partner lived in £450k home and wore jewellery worth tens of thousands of pounds while blighting Liverpool with gang misery 

It concluded: ‘After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and on licence, and the evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Nee was suitable for release.’

Nee was given a determinate sentence of four years and nine months in jail following his conviction for burglary, theft, dangerous driving, and for driving whilst disqualified and having no insurance.

He had been part of a gang that led police officers on a 125mph chase through Merseyside and Cheshire.

Photographs of Nee topless in HMP Kirkham, taken in 2019 and understood to have been shared onto Instagram by a drug gang baron, showed him bragging about life behind bars alongside fellow inmates.

Using the caption ‘costa del kirkham’ and ‘butlin behind bars’, the prisoners are seen relaxing in the warm weather and posing for the camera.

And in 2009, Nee was jailed for six and a half years for serving as a ‘trusted foot soldier’ in a drugs gang that help push heroin and crack cocaine onto the streets of Liverpool.

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