Devendra Kumar
A jury at Lincoln Crown Court has ruled that a 23-year-old man, Deividas Skebas, physically committed the act of stabbing a nine-year-old girl, Lilia Valutyte, in the heart in broad daylight. The incident occurred on July 28th in Boston, Lincolnshire, as Lilia was playing in the street. According to the court, Skebas did not attend the hearing or play any part in proceedings due to his mental health issues, making it unfit for him to plead or face a conventional trial.
The jury was tasked with determining whether Skebas physically did what he was accused of, without specifying if he intended to kill. The prosecutor, Christopher Donnellan KC, presented evidence to the court, including CCTV footage showing Skebas buying a knife from Wilko in Boston town centre on July 26th and later walking around the area before approaching Lilia and stabbing her at around 6:15 pm.
The court heard that Lilia was seen trying to move out of Skebas’s way as he approached her, and he was later seen running away from the scene past an off-duty police officer. The victim was pronounced dead at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston at 7:11 pm. The investigation found a paring knife and a bloodstained Calvin Klein T-shirt at Skebas’s home, where he had hidden them behind a radiator.
During an interview with the police, Skebas admitted to grabbing the knife and stabbing Lilia. The judge, Mrs Justice McGowan DBE, praised the jury for their work, saying that they had dealt with “very unpleasant material” and had handled the case efficiently, taking only 15 minutes to reach a conclusion.
Skebas will face a hospital order, the only sentence the court can pass, pending further assessment of his mental health. Should his condition improve, he could potentially face a conventional trial for the murder of Lilia Valutyte.