Man in court charged with murder of Lilia, 9
A MAN has appeared in court charged with murdering a nine-year-old girl who was found stabbed in the street.
Deividas Skebas, 22, was remanded into custody yesterday at Lincoln Crown Court. Wearing a prison-issued grey tracksuit, he spoke only to confirm his name as Judge Simon Hirst told him a provisional trial date would be set at his next hearing .
Mr Skebas had been arrested over the weekend following the death of Lilia Valutyte in Boston, Lincolnshire, on Thursday.
Lilia died after suffering what is believed to be a stab wound in Fountain Lane, Boston, at about 6.20pm. She had reportedly been playing hula-hoop with her younger sister on the street just yards from an office where their mother was working .
Mr Skebas, a Lithuanian national, was detained on Saturday after the police released four CCTV images of a man detectives said they wished to trace.
The CCTV footage showed a man in the Wormgate and Fountain Lane area of Boston at 6.15pm on Thursday, five minutes before Lilia was found dead.
Police also said two people who were arrested earlier this week have now been released with no further action.
Mr Skebas had appeared earlier in the day at Lincoln magistrates’ court where he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth at a two-minute hearing.
Mr Skebas, of Thorold Street, Boston, will return to the same court for a plea hearing on Sept 19.