Man found to have stabbed girl, 9, in the heart as she played in the street
A seriously mentally ill man has been found by a jury to have killed a nine-year-old girl during a trial of facts.
Deividas Skebas, 23, was deemed unfit to plead or face a normal trial due to his mental health.
During a two-day trial of facts jurors were played CCTV footage of the moment Lilia Valutyte was stabbed in the heart as she played outside a shop where her mum was working in Boston, Lincolnshire, on July 28 last year.
After just 15 minutes of deliberation the jury has unanimously determined that Skebas physically committed the act of killing Lilia.
The jury could not deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty of murder, due to a trial of the facts not deciding whether Skebas intended to kill.
Mrs Justice McGowan DBE told the jury before the start of the trial: ‘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.
‘This is a serious and sad case and you will be reminded a number of times to try and put emotion to one side.
‘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.’
The judge is expected to sentence Skebas to a hospital order, the only sentence the court can pass, later today.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.