Nine-Year-Old Girl Fatally Stabbed While Playing with Hula Hoop
A harrowing murder trial at Lincoln Crown Court has heard how a nine-year-old girl collapsed in her mother's arms after being stabbed in the heart while playing innocently with a hula hoop outside a family business.
Lilia Valutyte was fatally injured by Deividas Skebas, 26, in the town centre of Boston, Lincolnshire, on July 28, 2022. The court was told that the young girl had been playing outside her mother's embroidery shop when the attack occurred.
Mother's Heartbreaking Account Read to Jury
Jurors were read part of a statement written by Lilia's mother, Lina Savickiene, who described finding her daughter "covered in blood and with the hoop around her" after the stabbing.
Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC told the court that Mrs Savickiene initially thought "something might have happened" with the hula hoop before discovering the terrible truth.
The mother's statement continued: "She was getting pale. She collapsed in my hands. I saw the wounds, started to cover them. I just got scared, started to shout for somebody to help me."
Quiet Afternoon Turns to Tragedy
The court heard that earlier on the day of the attack, Mrs Savickiene and Lilia had gone into town for lunch and shopping before the mother allowed her daughter to play outside from about 5pm because the street was "quiet."
Mr Donnellan explained that Lilia had been "in and out" of the shop and her mother checked on her "quite often" before hearing her child call out for help.
Defendant Admits Manslaughter But Denies Murder
Jurors were informed that Lithuanian national Skebas had moved back to the UK just weeks before Lilia's death. While he denies murdering the girl, he admits manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
The court heard there is no dispute that Skebas, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, killed Lilia. However, the jury must decide what his state of mind was at the time of the attack.
Defence Cites Defendant's Mental Health Condition
Defence barrister Andrew Campbell-Tiech KC told the jury that Skebas, who appeared via videolink from high security facility Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, was "quite obviously deluded."
He said: "Those who are directly touched by it (the killing) had their lives ruined. Nobody wins. It's only a question of who loses more. Treating clinicians doubt that he (Skebas) will recover. His future is not one that any of us would wish for ourselves or our children."
The court heard that after the killing, Skebas claimed he had "the power to resurrect" Lilia if police contacted "his controller in Nasa."
Mr Campbell-Tiech added: "That's an outline, the centre point, to the suggestion made by my learned friend that the defendant, not in a state caused by his schizophrenia, wickedly murdered a random child. The act is wicked but the person who committed it may not be so defined."
Trial Continues as Legal Proceedings Unfold
The court was told that in December 2022, the defendant was transferred from prison to Rampton Hospital. The trial continues as legal professionals present their cases and the jury considers the complex matter of criminal responsibility in relation to mental health conditions.
This tragic case has highlighted the devastating consequences of violent crime on families and communities, while raising important questions about how the justice system handles defendants with serious mental health diagnoses.
