An Algerian woman apologised Friday as she went on trial in Paris for raping and murdering 12-year-old Lola Daviet. Dahbia Benkired, 27, was detained after the girl’s body was found in a trunk at the building where her parents worked.
The case sparked horror across France and became a focus for far-right politicians calling for stricter immigration enforcement measures. Benkired had overstayed a student visa and ignored a notice to leave France, critics noted, citing the timing of the murder.
The victim’s family wore white T-shirts in court showing Lola’s smiling face, demanding justice for their daughter’s brutal death. “I am waiting for justice to be done,” said Delphine Daviet, Lola’s mother, as Benkired stood impassive in the dock.
Benkired admitted her actions in a monotone voice, saying, “It’s horrible what I did. I regret it,” during the first hearing. Experts said she showed manipulative behaviour but had no major psychiatric disorder, confirming her competence to stand trial.
Investigators said she lured Lola into her sister’s flat, assaulted her with scissors and a box cutter, and killed her by asphyxia. Benkired placed the body in a trunk, claimed she was “selling a kidney,” and attempted to move it with friends and a taxi.
She described a turbulent upbringing in Algeria, alleged abuse, and later, drug use, including smoking “twenty joints a day,” she said. Online searches into witchcraft days before the murder and her anger at being denied building access were noted in the investigation.
Benkired faces life imprisonment if convicted, with her trial expected to last until next Friday, amid continued public outrage. Anti-immigration activists displayed banners outside the courthouse, declaring, “I don’t want to be next,” highlighting the case’s political fallout.