Jury finds man guilty of murder over death of nine-year-old girl
Devidas Skebas killed Lilia Valutyte in Boston in 2022, but had denied murder
Last updated 5th Feb 2026
A jury has delivered its verdict in the trial of a man accused of killing a nine-year-old girl in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Deividas Skebas, 26, admitted killing Lilia Valutyte on 28 July 2022 but denied murder, arguing his responsibility was diminished by his mental state.
He has been found guilty of murder, by a jury majority of 11 to 1.
The decision was returned at Lincoln Crown Court following a seven-day trial.
The court heard that Lilia was playing outside a shop where her mother was working in Boston when she was stabbed.
She was taken to hospital but later died. Skebas did not know Lilia and was arrested two days after the killing.
Prosecutors alleged the killing was deliberate and planned, telling jurors Skebas had been seen on CCTV in the area shortly before the attack and had bought a knife two days earlier.
The prosecution relied on medical evidence suggesting Skebas was not experiencing psychosis at the time.
The defence accepted that Skebas carried out the killing but said he was suffering from schizophrenia and experiencing psychotic symptoms, including hearing voices.
Three doctors agreed he was mentally ill on the day of the attack, the jury was told.
Jurors heard evidence from police officers, medical clinicians and psychiatric experts and were shown CCTV footage tracking Skebas’s movements before the killing.
The judge will proceed to sentencing, with the date set for 25th February 2026.
A murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.
Skebas, a Lithuanian national, was previously found unfit to stand trial, leading to a trial of the facts in 2023 in which a jury concluded he carried out the stabbing. Criminal proceedings resumed after he was later deemed fit to enter a plea.