Deividas Skebas: deividas skebas jailed for minimum of 25 years for murder of Lilia Valutyte

deividas skebas has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years after a jury at Lincoln Crown Court found him guilty on 5 February of murdering nine-year-old Lilia Valutyte. The sentence will be served in prison if he becomes well enough to be discharged from Rampton Hospital.

Deividas Skebas in court

Skebas, 26, appeared by video-link from Rampton Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility in Nottinghamshire. He wore a navy blue zip-up jumper and stared ahead without reacting as Mr Justice Choudhury read the sentence. The judge imposed a life term with a minimum of 25 years.

The attack on 28 July 2022

The attack occurred in Boston, Lincolnshire, on 28 July 2022. Lilia Valutyte, a nine-year-old girl, was stabbed in the heart while she played with a hula hoop in the town centre outside her mother’s embroidery shop. Her mother, Lina Savickiene, said she found her daughter "covered in blood and with the hoop around her". She initially thought "something might have happened" with the hula hoop and described shouting for help while attempting to cover her daughter's wounds as she became pale. An off-duty police officer tried to help save Lilia, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Trial, verdict and sentence

Jurors were told there was no dispute that Skebas had killed Lilia but had to decide his state of mind at the time of the attack. He admitted killing the nine-year-old but denied murder on the grounds that his responsibility was diminished by his mental state; he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder by a jury at Lincoln Crown Court on 5 February. The court heard Skebas had been judged mentally unfit to stand trial in 2023, but that assessment changed in spring 2025 and a criminal trial began at Lincoln Crown Court in January this year.

Family reaction and statements

Lilia’s mother, Lina Savickiene, submitted a victim impact statement read out by her husband and Lilia’s stepfather, Aurelijus Savickas, in which she wrote the grief the family had suffered was "not something you recover from" and that she had found her daughter and cradled her body. A separate statement released Lincolnshire Police from Lilia's mum, Lina Savicke, and stepfather, Aurelijus, said: "This decision will not change our lives. Nothing will bring our child back, the pain will not disappear and the tears shed will not wash it away. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank those who were not afraid to stand by us and support our family during the hardest time. No matter how strong we may appear, there are moments when all we need is to know that we are needed and not alone. Your presence meant more than words can express. "

Mental health and other evidence

The court heard Skebas had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He told police he was being controlled by Nasa, and the trial also heard he had said he was "controlled by a chip implanted by NASA. " After the killing, Skebas believed he had "the power to resurrect" Lilia but could only do so if the police contacted "his controller in Nasa". Mr Justice Choudhury noted Skebas had been a user of drugs including cannabis and amphetamines which would "likely worsen" his schizophrenia. Defence counsel Andrew Campbell-Tiech KC described Skebas as "quite obviously deluded" and said clinicians who had treated him doubted he would recover. Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC said the murder was "clearly a wicked act" and added: "He knew his conduct was wrong. He knew he was killing a child. "

The court was also told Skebas had entered the UK legally three weeks before killing Lilia and was working as a fruit picker. The attack was described in submissions as a random act by a "complete stranger. " Prosecutors told jurors he knew the severity of what he was doing and had tried to avoid being caught. It was noted that Lilia would have turned 13 this year.

Edited by Nathan Hemmingham with Jessica Lane and David McKenna at Lincoln Crown Court, and Eleanor Maslin.

The hearing at Lincoln Crown Court ended with Skebas sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years; if he becomes well enough to be discharged from Rampton Hospital, that minimum term will be served in prison.