Tom Wood
A 22-year-old man named Deividas Skebas has been charged with the murder of nine-year-old Lillia Valutyte, who was stabbed to death in Boston, Lincolnshire on Thursday, police have confirmed.
The schoolgirl, a Lithuanian national, was killed last Thursday in a suspected stabbing at around 6:20pm.
Police issued an appeal for information into the circumstances of her death, releasing CCTV footage of the suspect in the hope of garnering information from the public.
The 22-year-old Skebas was arrested on Saturday afternoon.
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Lincolnshire Police Chief Superintendent Martyn Parker said that the arrest came after ‘a combination of intelligence and information supplied by several members of the public’.
He continued: “We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.
"We are in a very sensitive stage of our investigations having just arrested a 22-year-old male.
"Please allow my officers the time and space to conduct their enquiries and continue their investigations."
Parker went on: “We are still encouraging anyone with information to contact us. You can do so via the major incident portal.
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“There will continue to be a significant police presence in the town while our investigation progresses.”
It was reported that Lillia had been playing in the street with her sister near to an office in which her mother was working at the time of the incident.
A bystander told The Telegraph: “I’m sure her mum wouldn’t have been far away as she always checked on them.
“She was a very quiet girl, and I just can’t understand it.
“I didn’t see what happened, but we were told [police] were looking for footage of a man running away.”
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Another witness, hairdresser Donna Burton, said: “They were just playing, one was hiding, playing hide and seek the older one, and she popped out, with the little one was looking for her, and they were just really happy.
“It’s really sad.”
Floral tributes to Lillia have been left at the corner of Fountain Lane, where the alleged stabbing took place, as well as at nearby Fountain Place.
Candles have been lit at a nearby church in her memory.
Reverend Jane Robertson of St Botolph’s Church said that the community was struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
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One person who came to pay their respects to Lillia said: "It breaks your heart because you're thinking all of her nine-year-old life has been wiped away in one night."
Another said: "It's horrific, I've got children myself so it hits home with me.”