Dahbia Benkired, 27, has been given a whole-life prison sentence for the murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet in Paris. This sentence, which requires a minimum of 30 years in prison, marks the first time a woman has received a whole-life term in France. The verdict was delivered by a panel of judges and a jury.
Sentencing and Legal Context
The whole-life term is a rare sentence in France. Individuals who have received it in the past include serial killer and rapist Michel Fourniret and Salah Abdeslam, who participated in the 2015 Paris attacks. The panel of judges and a jury imposed this penalty, which is the country's harshest.
The Victim and Discovery
Lola Daviet, 12 years old, was murdered in October 2022. Her body was found in a plastic storage box in the courtyard of her residential building in north-eastern Paris.
The Perpetrator and Details of the Crime
Dahbia Benkired, then 24, was captured on CCTV footage on the afternoon of 14 October 2022, approaching Lola as she returned home from school. Reports indicate Benkired lured Lola into an apartment that her older sister was sub-letting in the same building.
Over an hour-and-a-half, Benkired subjected Lola to a sexual assault before attacking her with scissors and a box cutter. Benkired then bound Lola with duct tape, including around her head, which resulted in her death by asphyxiation.
During the verdict reading, the presiding judge referred to the "extreme cruelty of the criminal acts," describing them as "true torture." He stated that the court considered "the unspeakable psychological damage to the victim and her family in such violent and almost unspeakable circumstances" when determining the sentence.
Before jury deliberations, Benkired told the court: "I ask for forgiveness and what I did is horrible. That's all I have to say."
Immigration Status and Political Commentary
Benkired is an Algerian immigrant who had been under orders to leave France. She was in the country on a student visa that she had failed to renew. In July 2022, she was stopped at a Paris airport and issued an order to leave the country within 30 days.
Following Lola's murder in October 2022, Jordan Bardella, president of France's National Rally party, stated on X that Benkired "had no business being in France." Éric Zemmour also commented on social media, writing: "Lola's murderer should never have crossed her path."
France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin criticized what he termed the "indecency" of politicians' comments, suggesting they "should reflect on the consequences of their words." Lola's mother and father, Delphine and Johan Daviet, issued a statement denouncing "any use of the name and image of [our] child for political ends."
Trial Proceedings and Expert Findings
The prosecutor during the trial advocated for the maximum possible sentence for Benkired. Psychiatric experts who examined Benkired identified "psychopathic" traits but concluded she was otherwise sane. The prosecutor addressed the panel of three judges and six jurors, stating: "Make no mistake no drug treatment can fundamentally transform Ms Benkired's personality. When there is no illness, there is no treatment."
Family Reaction
Following the verdict, Lola's mother, Delphine Daviet, stated: "We believed in justice and we got it." Lola's brother, Thibault, added: "We have restored the memory of my sister, we have restored the truth."
Lola's father, Johan Daviet, died in 2024 at the age of 49.