In brief
In a landmark decision that has left France in shock, 27-year-old Dahbia Benkired has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of 12-year-old schoolgirl Lola Daviet. The case has drawn national attention due to its horrific details and the rarity of a whole-life sentence in France, particularly for a female perpetrator. Lola was killed in October 2022, and her body was found in a trunk near her home, sparking outrage and debate about immigration and crime in the country.
A woman who raped and murdered 12 year-old Lola Daviet in Paris has been handed a rare whole-life sentence in a case that has shocked France.
Dahbia Benkired, aged 27, must spend at least 30 years in prison after a panel of judges and a jury decided to impose the country's harshest possible penalty.
A whole-life term is extremely rare in France and Benkired is the first woman to receive it.
Those who have been given the sentence include serial killer and rapist Michel Fourniret and jihadist Salah Abdeslam, who took part in the 2015 Paris attacks which killed 130 people.
Lola was murdered in October 2022 and her body was discovered in a trunk not far from her home in north-east Paris.
Benkired is an Algerian immigrant who was under orders to leave the country. French right-wing and far-right politicians have seized on the case.
