Khaberni - A French court sentenced Algerian Dahbia Benkreid to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after convicting her of raping, torturing, and killing the girl Lola Daviet in what is considered one of the "most heinous crimes" in France.
Thus, Benkreid (27 years old) became the first woman in France to be sentenced to the maximum possible punishment under French criminal law, after deliberations that lasted four hours, during which the jury concluded that the crime was characterized by "extreme cruelty" and "actual torture."
Investigations showed that Benkreid, who was homeless and working as a prostitute at the time, kidnapped the girl (12 years old) on October 14, 2022, to her apartment after an argument with her former partner "Mustafa M." out of anger and a desire for revenge, where she sexually assaulted her and forced her to perform obscene acts, before hitting her head on the bathroom wall and strangling her with tape, then stabbing her repeatedly with knives and scissors.
According to the forensic doctor, the girl suffered from suffocation, internal bleeding, and sexual assault during her lifetime, and her body was disfigured with dozens of wounds on her face, back, and neck.
After the crime, Benkreid placed the body inside a large bag and dragged it through the streets of Paris before abandoning it, where a homeless man later found it.
Security camera footage, which was displayed in court, showed the moment when Benkreid opened the bag containing the girl's body while inside a bar on "Rue Manan" just hours after the crime.
"The devil" entered the place with three bags – two normal and one large – and the video shows her talking to a man while the large bag, which the prosecution stated contained Lola's body, was lying next to her on the ground.
At one moment, it appeared as though Benkreid was pointing to the bag and slightly opening it to show what was inside. It was unclear whether the man realized its contents or not.
Benkreid had settled in France in 2013, but she overstayed her student visa, and an order of expulsion was issued against her in August 2022, two months before the crime occurred.
Lola's father later died in February 2024 due to alcohol addiction caused by grief for his daughter, leaving an impactful message on Benkreid's apartment door, which read: "I do not understand why all this cruelty towards you, who were very kind... See you soon, your father who loves you forever."
During the trial, the suspect said: "I ask for forgiveness, what I did was horrible," while the victim's mother refused any leniency, demanding the court that "the murderer be imprisoned for life."
The prosecutor described the crime as "acts of torture and brutality aimed at inflicting the maximum degree of physical and psychological pain," affirming that the accused is "extremely dangerous" and that the verdict aimed to "protect society from her."
