The horrifying murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet has reignited calls for stricter immigration enforcement in France after the girl was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and beheaded by an Algerian migrant who had overstayed her visa. The killer, 27-year-old Dhabia Benkired, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Friday — a first for a woman in France.
Lola’s mother, Delphine Daviet, told the court that the tragedy destroyed the family. After years of sobriety, her husband “drank from morning to night” following the discovery of his daughter’s body and “died of grief” in February 2024 at age 49. The father had also written a letter to the killer expressing disbelief at the cruelty inflicted on his daughter: “My darling, I still don’t understand why there was so much cruelty and barbarity towards you, you who were so kind.”
The court heard that Benkired lured Lola into her sister’s apartment after school, forced her to undress and perform sexual acts, then tortured her with scissors before suffocating her with duct tape. Investigators found the young girl’s body stuffed into a suitcase, with the numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’ written on her feet.
Benkired asked the family for forgiveness in court, saying, “I would like to ask the whole family for forgiveness. What I did was horrible and I regret it.”
The case has sparked national outrage, with Republican Minister of Parliament Éric Pauget addressing the justice minister: “Lola lost her life because you didn’t expel this national.” The girl’s family pushed for the maximum sentence and welcomed the verdict.
“In determining the appropriate sentence, the court took into account the unspeakable psychological damage to the victim and her family in such violent and almost unspeakable circumstances,” the judge said.
