Lilia Valutyte (Image: Lincolnshire Police / SWNS)
A migrant fruit picker who stabbed a nine-year-old girl to death as she played outside her mother’s high street store was allowed back into Britain despite carrying out a previous violent attack.
Drug-addled schizophrenic Deividas Skebas, 26, brutally thrust a blade into the heart of unsuspecting Lilia Valutyte as she played hula hoop next to her five-year-old sister in the Lincolnshire market town of Boston.
Lilia’s mother Lina Savickiene, 35, heard screams and raced from her embroidery shop to find her eldest daughter, an avid dancer, collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood with a hoop still around her waist. She had suffered a single devastating stab wound that had pierced her heart giving her no chance of survival. She died in her mother’s arms less than an hour later.
Skebas, who was addicted to cannabis and amphetamines, fled the scene following his 6.15pm attack on July 28, 2022, with a Sabatier paring knife bought from a Wilko shop two days earlier. He then shaved his beard and hid the murder weapon behind a radiator before making plans to catch a bus back to Lithuania.
Deividas Skebas, leaves Lincoln Crown Court. (Image: SWNS)
But he was arrested by armed officers two days later after police recovered harrowing town centre CCTV of the monster carrying out the murder. This showed him quickening his walking pace before sprinting towards his young victim, then reaching behind his back to grab his knife – which he then ruthlessly plunged into Lilia’s chest.
Skebas, who was 23 at the time, had a history of mental illness that led to him being detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act after showing signs of psychosis when he attacked another person with pepper spray shortly after first arriving in the UK in 2020.
The jury heard that Skebas was discharged back to Lithuania but legally returned to the UK on July 2, 2022 – eight days before committing the murder. He was arrested following a two-day manhunt and in interview told detectives he was being “controlled by Nasa” but had the power to resurrect his victim if given permission by the space agency.
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Deividas Skebas (Image: UK)
Yesterday Skebas, who carried out casual labour on Lincolnshire farms picking fruit, appeared at Lincoln Crown Court by video-link from high security facility Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire wearing a navy blue zip-up jumper and stared ahead blankly without reacting as he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 25 years, by Mr Justice Choudhury.
The judge described Lilia as a “happy, lively girl as carefree as any nine-year-old should be”, adding that Skebas committed a “shocking and horrific act of violence” on her.
He said: “She should have been safe. She was playing in a pedestrianised area and just yards away from her mum.”
Mr Justice Choudhury said Skebas’s drug abuse had “likely worsened” his schizophrenia.
Skebas had initially been deemed unfit to stand trial but it was later argued that, while his deteriorating mental health was genuine, he did indeed know what he was doing, had tried to avoid detection and intended to flee the country.
Lilia Valutyte (Image: PA)
The funeral of Lilia Valutyte (9) at St Botolph’s Church, Boston, Lincs. September 2, 2022. See SW (Image: Tom Maddick / SWNS)
Opening the Crown’s case against Skebas last month, Christopher Donnellan KC told jurors: “This deliberate murder was clearly a wicked act. He knew his conduct was wrong. He knew he was killing a child.”
Ms Savickiene said in an impact statement read by her husband, Aurelijus Savickas, on the day Skebas was convicted: “Why her? Why us? The questions remain unanswered.”
Her daughter was born in Britain and lived with Lithuanian mother and stepfather, Aurelijus Savickas, 35.
Lilia’s father lives overseas but flew to the UK to join hundreds of mourners attending his daughter’s funeral in which her body was carried by a white and pink horse-drawn carriage.
Her heartbroken mother revealed her daughter had “loved to dance, travel and try new things, and annoy her sister”.
The little girl attended dance classes with other children in Boston with teacher, Mantas Grauzinis, 32, revealing her talent. She said: “She was one of the kids who was coming first to the lessons and going out last. She was really a beautiful person. She was dancing beautifully, winning trophies.”
Lilia Valytute murder: Deividas Skebas jailed for minimum of 25 years
Yesterday Skebas, who carried out casual labour on Lincolnshire farms picking fruit, appeared by video-link from high security facility Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire wearing a navy blue zip-up jumper and stared ahead blankly without reacting as his life sentence was passed by Mr Justice Choudhury.
The judge described Lilia as a “happy, lively girl as carefree as any nine-year-old should be”, adding that Skebas committed a “shocking and horrific act of violence” on her.
He said: “She should have been safe. She was playing in a pedestrianised area and just yards away from her mum.”
Mr Justice Choudhury said Skebas’s drug abuse had “likely worsened” his schizophrenia.
Skebas had initially been deemed unfit to stand trial but it was later argued that, while his deteriorating mental health was genuine, he did indeed know what he was doing, had tried to avoid detection and intended to flee the country.
The funeral of Lilia Valutyte (9) at St Botolph’s Church, Boston, Lincs. September 2, 2022. See SW (Image: Tom Maddick / SWNS)
In mitigation, defence barrister Andrew Campbell-Tiech KC said Skebas remains dangerous “not merely to himself but in the absence of medication… a danger to others”.
He added: “This young man has been subject to a serious and dangerous condition for many, many years.”
The judge told Skebas that although he has been sentenced to life imprisonment, “alternative arrangements may have to be made” because of his current mental health state.
