In a sombre conclusion to a heartbreaking case, a Lincoln Crown Court jury has determined that 23-year-old Deividas Skebas was responsible for the death of nine-year-old Lilia Valutyte, who was tragically stabbed while playing in a street in Boston last summer. The jury, consisting of six men and six women, made their unanimous decision within a short span of 30 minutes on Tuesday afternoon.
The court heard that Lilia Valutyte died as a result of a single stab wound to her chest on the 28th of July. Skebas, whose mental health was deemed unfit for pleading, faced a trial of the facts. Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC described the horrific act, stating, “He thrust the knife straight into her chest and through into her heart.”
The incident occurred when Lilia was playing with a hula hoop in Fountain Lane, located in Lincolnshire town, just outside the shop where her mother worked. CCTV footage presented to the jury showed Skebas running towards the young Harry Potter enthusiast, stabbing her, and fleeing the scene. Despite the swift response from paramedics and an off-duty police officer, Lilia was pronounced dead at 7.11pm
Two days later, law enforcement arrested Skebas and discovered a Sabatier paring knife behind a radiator in his residence. The knife’s characteristics were consistent with the injury sustained by Lilia during the attack. Skebas, a resident of Thorold Street in Boston, admitted during police interviews to stabbing Lilia and identified himself in the CCTV footage.
Representing Skebas, Andrew Campbell Tiech KC informed the jury that he could not challenge the presented evidence as he had not received any instructions to do so. Prior to the commencement of the trial, Judge Mrs. Justice McGowan DBE addressed the jury, emphasizing the importance of setting aside emotions in their deliberations. She explained, “You are not going to be asked to say guilty or not guilty because this is not a normal trial. The defendant in this case is seriously mentally ill and he is not here and can’t play a proper part in the trial.”
Though a hospital order is expected to be handed down to Skebas at a later date, justice for the untimely loss of Lilia Valutyte cannot be fully achieved. Friends of the family described Lilia as a happy child, a beautiful person whose life was cut short in an act of senseless violence.
