Deividas Skebas convicted of Lilia Valutyte murder in Lincolnshire

BOSTON: Deividas Skebas, 26, has been convicted of the murder of nine-year-old Lilia Valutyte, who was stabbed to death in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Lilia was killed on July 28, 2022, after being stabbed in the heart while playing with a hula hoop in the street outside her mother’s embroidery shop. The attack took place in broad daylight and shocked the close-knit market town.

A jury at Lincoln Crown Court returned a guilty verdict on Thursday, rejecting Skebas’s defence of diminished responsibility and concluding a lengthy legal process seeking justice for Lilia and her family.

The Lithuanian national admitted to killing the child and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, citing his mental health. However, prosecutors from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) argued the killing was deliberate and planned.

Leading the prosecution, Christopher Donnellan KC told the jury that the act was a “wicked” and intentional killing.

While it was undisputed that Skebas, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, carried out the killing, the jury was required to determine his state of mind at the time of the attack. They ultimately found him criminally responsible for murder.

Skebas will be sentenced on February 25.

Lilia’s mother, Lina Savickiene, cradled her daughter after the attack. In a victim impact statement read to the court by her husband, Aurelijus Savickas, she described the devastating impact of the loss.

“This is not something you recover from. Sometimes terrifying thoughts overwhelm the mind… Why her? Why us? The questions remain unanswered,” the statement said.

Mr Savickas, who became Lilia’s stepfather when she was three, said he loved her as his own.

“From that moment, we walked our journey together… Lilia, you will always live in our hearts, you are forever loved, forever missed.”

The jury heard that after the killing, Skebas claimed he had the power to resurrect Lilia if police contacted “his controller in NASA”.