A Lithuanian national who stabbed a nine-year-old girl to death in a Lincolnshire market town has been jailed for life, with a judge ruling he must serve a minimum of 25 years for a ‘shocking and horrific’ murder the prosecution described as a wicked and deliberate act.
Deividas Skebas, 26, was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Tuesday for killing Lilia Valutyte, who was playing with a hula hoop outside her mother’s embroidery shop in Boston on the evening of 28 July 2022. Skebas had denied murder but admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, citing a history of schizophrenia. His defence was rejected by a jury, which found him guilty of murder by an 11-to-one majority verdict earlier this month.
Mr Justice Choudhury, passing sentence, described Lilia as a “happy, lively girl as carefree as any nine-year-old should be”. He stated she should have been safe playing in a pedestrianised area just yards from her mother, and that Skebas had committed a “shocking and horrific act of violence”.
The court heard that Skebas, a Lithuanian national who had legally re-entered the UK on 2 July 2022, had purchased the murder weapon – a Sabatier paring knife – from a Wilko store in Boston two days before the attack.
A Planned and Brutal Attack
During the trial, prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC detailed the moments leading to Lilia’s death. He told the jury that Lilia had been “in and out” of her mother’s shop on Fountain Lane, a quiet street not accessible to through-traffic. Her mother, Lina Savickiene, checked on her “quite often” before hearing her child call for help.
CCTV footage showed Skebas circling the area and waiting for other pedestrians to move away. “When they left the immediate area and had gone… he approached from the Wormgate end of Fountain Lane,” Mr Donnellan said. The prosecutor said Skebas’s pace “quickened” before he took the knife from his back pocket. “He put the knife straight into the middle of Lilia and the force of it appears to have knocked her back towards some shutters on the adjoining shop. That stab wound went straight through her heart and she fell there in the street. He ran off.”
In a statement, Mrs Savickiene said she found her daughter “covered in blood and with the hoop around her”. “She was getting pale. She collapsed in my hands. I saw the wounds, started to cover them. I just got scared, started to shout for somebody to help me,” she said. Despite the efforts of an off-duty police officer and paramedics who rushed to the scene, Lilia was declared dead within an hour.
Flight, Arrest, and a History of Mental Illness
In the aftermath, Skebas shaved his beard, hid the knife behind a radiator, and made efforts to leave the country on a bus to Lithuania. A blood-stained Calvin Klein T-shirt matching Lilia’s DNA was later found at his property. He was arrested on suspicion of murder on 30 July and charged the following day.
His mental health was said to be “declining” after his arrest, and he was transferred to hospital. He later told police there was a “form of control over him and his actions”, referring to Nasa and a microchip, and claimed he had “the power to resurrect” Lilia.
Skebas had a documented history of mental illness. Three consultant psychiatrists who assessed him agreed he suffered from schizophrenia and exhibited psychotic symptoms on the day of the attack. His defence barrister, Andrew Campbell-Tiech KC, told the jury Skebas was “quite obviously deluded” and argued that an abnormality of mental functioning due to schizophrenia substantially impaired his responsibility. A forensic psychiatrist had concluded he had a defence of diminished responsibility.
However, the prosecution successfully argued that Skebas knew his conduct was wrong. Mr Donnellan told the court: “This deliberate murder was clearly a wicked act. He knew his conduct was wrong. He knew he was killing a child.” The jury agreed that his actions before, during, and after the killing demonstrated intent and an attempt to avoid detection.
A Long Road to Justice
Skebas was initially deemed unfit to stand trial due to his mental health and was detained in a secure hospital. A ‘trial of the facts’ was held in 2023, where a jury found him responsible for the killing. After his mental health improved, he stood trial for murder in January 2026.
His time in custody has been marked by further incidents. In August 2022, he was attacked by other prisoners at HM Prison Wakefield and airlifted to hospital. He later exhibited concerning behaviour, including claims to be a vampire. Clinicians treating him have doubted he will recover.
The court heard Skebas had a history of drug use, including cannabis and amphetamines, which could worsen his schizophrenia.
A Life Cut Short
Lilia Valutyte would have turned 13 years old on 2 February this year. Her mother’s statement expressed the enduring pain and unanswered questions following her daughter’s death. The case has had a significant emotional impact on the community of Boston.
Concluding the case, Mr Justice Choudhury imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years before Skebas can be considered for parole.
