Posted on 02/27/2026 12:31:22 PM PST by lowbridge
A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years after being found guilty of murdering a nine-year-old girl as she played with a hula hoop.
Deividas Skebas, 26, stabbed Lilia Valutyte to death in a random attack outside the shop where her mother worked in Boston, Lincolnshire, on 28 July 2022.
He admitted killing Lilia but denied her murder, claiming his responsibility was diminished by his mental state. However, a jury at Lincoln Crown Court convicted him following an eight-day trial earlier this month.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury told Skebas, who showed little emotion, that it was a "shocking and horrific act of violence" and added: "You did the unthinkable.
-snip
Skebas, who appeared via videolink from Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, was told he would remain at the psychiatric facility.
However, the judge said if at any point Skebas was deemed well enough to be discharged he would be sent to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
During the trial, the jury heard Lilia had been playing in Fountain Lane.
Skebas, formerly of Thorold Street, Boston, ran towards Lilia and stabbed her once in the chest.
Her mother, Lina Savicke, told the court Lilia called her name and after she rushed outside the girl collapsed into her arms.
Despite the efforts of an off-duty police officer, doctors and paramedics, Lilia died within an hour of being attacked.
Jurors heard Lithuania national Skebas had a history of mental health issues and told police after his arrest he was being controlled by a microchip.
Three psychiatrists who assessed Skebas agreed he had schizophrenia and was showing symptoms of psychosis on the day he killed Lilia.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Not a “man jailed”. An animal jailed that should be exterminated
Is this a member of the “religion of peace”?
Mussie?
England really needs to reconsider hanging.
Especially for those of a certain religious persuasion.
Diversity is Great Britain's strength.
It was not a random attack. He probably thought that the body movements required to hula a hoop were suggestive of sex and he punished her for it. Calling it a random attack minimizes the severity of the crime.
> England really needs to reconsider hanging. <
More likely the UK will hang anyone who dares to criticize the country’s immigration policy. Come one, come all! No examination necessary.
And don’t forget to sign up for all the benefits due you.
I sure hope he left lots of kids behind. He really contributed to society. /s
“Deividas Skebas, 26, stabbed Lilia Valutyte...Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury...Her mother, Lina Savicke...”
Schizophrenia.
The question would be what kind of prior history he had manifested.
There are many interesting, and tricky cases. I don't know the literature, but a great example is the case of William Chester Minor (the subject of a very engaging book, The Surgeon of Crowthorne, and movie, The Professor and the Madman.) Minor was superbly educated, a graduate of the Yale Medical School back when medical care was moving from apprenticeships to universities, a Union Army surgeon in the Civil War ... and schizophrenic. The development and progression of the condition is a matter of some speculation. He stayed in the Army after the Civil War, but the Army came to realize that there was something wrong with him. He received the best medical and psychiatric care Uncle Sam could provide and was even confined to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in DC. The Army concluded that there was nothing that could be done for him.
To this point, however, Minor had not committed any acts of violence (that we know of) and did not seem to be a threat. The Army deemed him unfit for duty, gave him a pension, and discharged him. He drifted to London where he had a schizophrenic break and committed a completely unprovoked murder.
The British courts had reached the point at which they could recognize that he was mad as a hatter and therefore not guilty by reason of insanity. Rather than hang him, the courts sentenced him to life in Broadmoor Hospital, a lunatic asylum. There he received state of the art care -- witch doctor and voodoo stuff by our standards -- but was deemed not dangerous and was given comfortable quarters. Which is a good thing, because he became perhaps the most celebrated of the early volunteer word sleuths who contributed mightily to the development of the Oxford English Dictionary.
I doubt that this guy's story is anywhere near as interesting. The question is whether he should have been institutionalized. 20/20 hindsight says yes, but ....
Death penalty is the only justice.
The doctor who prescribed the psych drugs he was on should go to jail with him.
I had noticed the same thing.
It's no different here either. Remember when that Sikh truck driver smoked and entire minivan and all the passengers turned out to be Haitian nationals? Many similar examples.
If you’re smart enough to know how stupid you are, you’re not very stupid
Amelia has been wondering the same thing...’where are the Englishmen’?
The same thing with crazy. People who are insane seem to always believe they are the only ones sane.
I’d grab a knife and go after that microchip.
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