July 11th 2023.
Deividas Skebas, a 23-year-old man who was found to be suffering from a serious mental illness, has been convicted of killing a nine-year-old girl. The trial of facts was presented with CCTV footage of the moment Lilia Valutyte was stabbed in the heart as she played outside a shop in Boston, Lincolnshire where her mother was working last July 28.
After only 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury unanimously found that Skebas physically committed the act. The verdict could not determine if Skebas had intended to kill Lilia, as such a trial of the facts could not decide this.
Before the start of the trial, Mrs Justice McGowan DBE reminded the jury to not let emotion cloud their judgment. She said, “What you are going to be asked to do is not to say whether he is guilty or not guilty but whether he is responsible for the acts. It is important that when you come to decide whether or not you are sure he did it that however sad you found the case, you put that to one side and make a logical and clear decision.”
Today, the judge is expected to sentence Skebas to a hospital order, the only sentence the court can pass. It is a tragic and unfortunate event that such a young life was taken away, and the court must take all necessary steps to ensure that justice is served.
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