A man with schizophrenia fatally stabbed a nine-year-old girl while she was playing with a hula hoop on a street in Lincolnshire, according to testimony in a murder trial. Deividas Skebas attacked Lilia Valutyte on Fountain Lane in Boston on July 28, 2022, while her mother was nearby. Skebas, a 23-year-old who had recently returned to the UK from Lithuania, denies the murder charge but acknowledges manslaughter due to diminished mental capacity.

The court was informed that Skebas fatally stabbed Lilia, but the jury must determine his mental state at the time of the incident. Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC presented the case at Lincoln Crown Court, emphasizing that Skebas was aware of his actions and the consequences of killing a child.

Lilia was playing with a hula hoop outside her mother’s workplace in Boston town center when Skebas, waiting at a distance, approached and swiftly stabbed her with a knife. He then fled the scene while an off-duty police officer attempted to save Lilia’s life upon hearing distress sounds. Despite efforts, Lilia was pronounced dead within an hour of the attack.

Skebas had purchased a knife two days prior to the incident and was later arrested, citing influences of external control over his actions. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. The court heard that Skebas had a history of mental health treatment in both the UK and Lithuania and had previously attacked someone with pepper spray in 2020.

Having lawfully returned to the UK in July 2022, the reasons for Skebas’s return remain unclear, possibly for employment purposes. The trial is ongoing as experts testify to Skebas’s mental health condition and his culpability in the tragic incident.