A murder trial revealed the tragic incident of a nine-year-old girl, Lilia Valutyte, being fatally stabbed in the heart while playing hula hoop outside her mother’s embroidery shop. Lina Savickiene, Lilia’s mother, discovered her daughter covered in blood with the hoop around her after the attack. Mrs. Savickiene, initially thinking something had happened with the hula hoop, saw Lilia getting pale, collapsing in her arms. She tried to cover the wounds and called for help in fear.

Earlier that day, Mrs. Savickiene and Lilia had gone into town for lunch and shopping before allowing Lilia to play outside around 5 pm because the street was quiet. Lilia had been back and forth from the shop, with her mother checking on her regularly until she heard her cry out for help.

The tragic event occurred in the town center of Boston, Lincs., on July 28, 2022. Deividas Skebas, a Lithuanian national who had recently returned to the UK, stands accused of the crime. Skebas denies the murder charge but admits to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, citing his diagnosis of schizophrenia. The court is tasked with determining his mental state at the time of the attack.

During the trial, defense barrister Andrew Campbell-Tiech stated that Skebas, appearing via videolink from Rampton Hospital, was clearly deluded. Skebas claimed he could resurrect Lilia if the police contacted “his controller in Nasa” after the incident. Campbell-Tiech emphasized the impact on lives and expressed doubts about Skebas’s recovery, painting a bleak future for him.

The court learned that Skebas was transferred to Rampton Hospital in December 2022 from prison. The trial is ongoing.