The Paris prosecutor has called for a trial of the woman suspected of the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Paris in 2022 – a case that shocked France and sparked outrage over the government’s handling of immigration.
The Paris prosecutor wants Dahbia Benkired to have her day in court on charges of rape, torture and murder of 12-year-old Lola in October 2022.
Police had identified Benkired from CCTV footage from the building where Lola lived.
She was arrested the day after Lola’s body was found in a trunk in the courtyard of the building.
Benkired later admitted to committing “harm of a sexual nature and other violent acts against (Lola) that caused her death, and hid her body in the trunk," prosecutors said at the time, though she denied it was premeditated.
An autopsy found Lola died from asphyxiation, and her body had many lesions, particularly around her neck.
Benkired, who suffers from personality disorders, underwent a psychological evaluation that concluded her judgment was not impaired at the time of the murder.
Paris police charge woman for murder of 12-year-old Lola whose body was found in suitcase
The prosecutor’s office confirmed media reports Monday that it had asked for the case to go to trial last week.
If the judge agrees to hear the case, Benkired could face life in prison, if convicted.
Benkired, who is Algerian, was in France on an expired student visa.
The fact that she was still in France at the time of the murder outraged many on the far right, which organised demonstrations against what they said was the government’s poor management of illegal immigration.
Lola’s parents had specifically asked that their daughter's murder not be used for political ends.
(with AFP)
