A woman who raped, tortured and murdered a 12-year-old girl in Paris three years ago was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.
Davia Benkired, a 27-year-old woman from Algeria, faces at least 30 years in prison for the crimes against Laura Daviet, BFMTV reported. BFMTV added that she is the first woman in France to receive the harshest sentence under criminal law.
In October 2022, Daviette’s body was found dismembered and stuffed into a plastic box in a common area outside the building where she lived, according to a statement from the Paris police prosecutor at the time.
The victim’s body was found just hours after he was first reported missing, the statement said.
CCTV footage showed the schoolgirl entering the apartment alongside Benkired at 3.15pm on the day of the murder. Less than two hours later, the attacker was seen leaving the building alone, carrying a heavy bag, the statement said.
Daviette died of cardiopulmonary failure with signs of asphyxiation and neck compression, according to a statement from the police prosecutor.
She had multiple other injuries, “particularly large cuts to her face, back and neck, but these did not contribute to her death, according to the coroner’s cause of death conclusions,” a police statement said.
Benkired told police he directed Daviet to his sister’s apartment, which is in the same building where the victim lived, according to the statement.
The statement said he forced the girl to take a shower before “sexually assaulting and otherwise causing her death” and then hid the girl’s body in a plastic box.
BFMTV reported that in court on Friday, Benkired described his crime as “terrible” and asked for forgiveness before deliberations took place.
In a statement after the killer was sentenced, Laura Davier’s brother thanked the French justice system for Benkired’s sentence and said the family was “satisfied with the response we received,” BFMTV reported. The paper added that the victim’s mother said so, “even if she doesn’t get Laura back.”
Clotilde Lepetit, Daviet’s family lawyer, welcomed “a fair decision based on reason, humanity, truth and memory,” according to BFMTV.
“We have restored this girl’s memory. We have restored the shattered truth,” she said, according to the newspaper.
Benkired’s lawyer, Alexandre Valois, said Friday’s verdict was not surprising. According to BFMTV, the perpetrator told reporters that he had not yet decided whether to appeal the sentence.
