A female defendant accused with mistreating and torturing a 12-year-old girl before causing her death by suffocation will face court proceedings for homicide this Friday in a case that stunned the nation and caused public controversy.
Finding the Deceased Girl
Lola Daviet’s body was found stuffed into a storage box that had been dumped on the street close to her family home.
The 27-year-old accused, aged 27, is indicted for the killing of a child, violent sexual assault, torture and an act of barbarity in a incident that aroused public outrage across France three years ago.
Political Reactions
Far-right groups attempted to make electoral advantage from the brutal murder after it was disclosed that Benkired, who was of Algerian origin, lacked authorization to remain in the country and had been issued with an deportation notice weeks before the incident.
Sequence of Occurrences
The young girl had walked a few hundred yards from her educational institution and arrived at her dwelling in the 19th arrondissement, where her family worked as the building’s concierges, just after 3pm on Friday 14 October 2022.
The security camera footage captured the accused, who was homeless and unemployed but residing temporarily in her sister’s flat in the residential block, meeting the girl just after 3pm outside the property.
Investigation and Arrest
Daviet’s parents raised the alarm when their child failed to return home. An hour and a half later, Benkired was filmed in the entrance hallway of the structure accompanied by suitcases including a sizeable container.
The defendant, who was said to have given inconsistent statements of the incident, was evaluated by multiple mental health experts and clinical evaluators but deemed fit for court proceedings. She has been held in Fresnes prison south of Paris for the preceding 36 months.
Government Responses
Shortly after the tragic incident, Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National attempted to make political capital out of the alleged murderer’s irregular migration status. A conservative parliamentarian, of the rightwing Les Républicains, stated during legislative session that the victim had been killed as a consequence of alleged leniency on immigration.
However, elected officials were advised by government representatives of the centrist government to “demonstrate basic respect”.
The then justice minister, the ex-minister, charged them of playing “partisan games” and using “a child’s tragic death” to promote their ideological agenda.
Judicial Context and Penalties
In the French legal system, any sexual violation of any kind, perpetrated against another person by violence, coercion, threats or unexpected action, is classified as rape. Benkired could receive a maximum imprisonment term if found guilty.
The court proceedings will continue through next Friday when a judicial decision is expected.
