Girl, 9, stabbed to death in street, court hears

A nine-year-old girl was stabbed to death while playing with a hula hoop in the street, a court has heard.

Lilia Valutyte died after being stabbed in the chest while she played outside a shop where her mother was working on Fountain Lane, Boston, Lincolnshire, on 28 July 2022.

Deividas Skebas, 26, formerly of Thorold Street, Boston, admits killing Lilia, but denies murder, claiming his responsibility was diminished by his mental state.

Opening the case at Lincoln Crown Court, Christopher Donnellan KC, prosecuting, told the jury it was a "wicked act", adding Skebas knew he was "killing a child".

Donnellan told the court Skebas "was waiting" while Lilia was playing outside with another child.

He ran quickly towards her and pulled a knife from the back pocket of his trousers while "barely altering his pace", he said.

Skebas thrust the knife straight into her chest and through into her heart, causing her to fall backwards into the shutters of a shop, the prosecutor added.

"The stab wound went straight through her heart. She fell in the street. He ran off."

The court heard that, despite the efforts of an off-duty police officer, doctors and paramedics, Lilia died within an hour.

Donnellan said the police officer had reacted after hearing a noise, adding his first instinct was to follow the man who, by now, was running away.

"He hears screams which stop him from going after that man, and he turns and goes back into Fountain Lane and finds Lilia," he said.

"He immediately realised he has to do something. He started straight away trying to preserve her life."

The prosecutor said Skebas was transferred to hospital in December 2022 and, in 2023, it was decided he was unfit to stand trial.

Following a medical review, Donnellan told the court Skebas was now deemed fit to take part in proceedings and the jury would have to decide if he was guilty of murder or manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

"The Crown do not accept that partial defence," he added.

The trial continues.

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