FRANCE OPENS HIGH-PROFILE TRIAL OF ALGERIAN WOMAN OVER SCHOOLGIRL'S BRUTAL MURDER

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An Algerian female defendant appeared in court in France on Friday, charged with the heinous acts of raping, torturing, and murdering a 12-year-old girl in Paris—a case that has shocked the nation.

Dahbia Benkired, now aged 27, was apprehended following the disappearance of Lola Daviet in the northeast sector of the capital three years prior, with her remains subsequently discovered in a trunk situated in the entryway of the premises where her parents served as custodians.

Representatives from conservative and far-right political factions have leveraged the incident to advocate for stricter enforcement of immigration regulations, as Benkired was revealed to have overstayed her student visa and ignored a directive to depart France.

However, the mother of the victim implored lawmakers to refrain from capitalizing on the tragic demise of her daughter.

On Friday, the girl’s family attended the court proceedings, donned in T-shirts emblazoned with the message: “You were the sun of our life, you will be the star of our nights. ” A woman in her fifties became visibly emotional upon the defendant’s entrance into the courtroom.

Residents of the building reported observing Benkired in the lobby of the apartment complex in the 19th district on October 14, 2022, transporting suitcases and a substantial trunk concealed by a blanket, as the investigation indicated.

Approximately 90 minutes earlier, security surveillance footage captured Benkired approaching the girl as she arrived from school and subsequently ushering her into the apartment occupied by her sister in the building.

Investigators assert that Benkired assaulted and raped the schoolgirl with scissors and a box cutter, thereafter restraining her with duct tape, including around her face, which resulted in her death from asphyxiation.

She concealed the body within a trunk and exited the building, stopping outside a cafe, where she allegedly informed a patron, who appeared suspicious of her luggage, that she was “selling a kidney,” according to investigators.

Benkired then persuaded a friend to transport her and the bags to his residence, before she hailed a taxi with the trunk back to the building where her sister resided. She fled upon spotting police presence in the vicinity but was apprehended the following day.

The investigation revealed that Benkired had a challenging childhood, raised by relatives prior to her relocation to France in 2013.

She communicated to investigators her frustration towards the girl’s mother, who had declined to provide her with an access badge for the main entrance of the apartment building, despite her sister having given her a key to the flat.

The inquiry also disclosed that she had conducted online searches related to witchcraft in the days leading up to the murder.

Benkired’s trial is scheduled to extend until the following Friday, facing the possibility of a life sentence if convicted.

AFP