The grief-stricken father of a 12-year-old French girl who was raped, tortured and beheaded by an illegal immigrant has died from overwhelming sorrow, as a court handed down an historic life sentence to his daughter’s killer.
Johan Daviet, 49, succumbed to alcohol-fuelled despair in February 2024, unable to cope with the barbaric murder of his daughter Lola, whose partially severed head was discovered inside a trunk outside the Paris apartment block where he worked as caretaker.
On Friday, Dahbia Benkired, a 27-year-old Algerian woman living illegally in France under an expulsion order, became the first female in French history to receive life imprisonment without parole for the brutal October 2022 killing that shocked the nation.
Lola’s devastated mother, Delphine Daviet, revealed in court this week how her husband, who had been sober for more than three years, resumed drinking the very day their daughter was killed.
“He drank from morning to night,” she testified. “He died of grief,” tormented by “his demons.”
Before his death, Johan hung a heart-breaking letter on Benkired’s apartment door expressing his anguish. The note read: “My darling, I still don’t understand why there was so much cruelty and barbarity towards you, you who were so kind. I can’t wait to see you again. Your dad, who loves you for life.”
Lola’s brother Thibault addressed the court on behalf of his late father. “I would like to speak on behalf of the whole family, and of course my father, who is unfortunately no longer here because of the same person,” he said. “We would like you to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, to all of France and to us.”
The Paris Assize Court heard harrowing evidence during the week-long trial of how Lola was subjected to extreme cruelty in her final hours. Security footage captured the schoolgirl entering her apartment building at approximately 3pm on 14 October 2022, after returning from her lessons at Collège Georges Brassens.
Benkired, who resided in the same building, lured the child into her sister’s flat under false pretences before launching a savage attack. The court heard how the defendant forced Lola to undress and shower before subjecting her to sexual assault, forcing the 12-year-old to perform a sex act on her.
Medical testimony revealed Lola suffered 38 injuries to her back and neck during a sustained assault with scissors and a box cutter. Most horrifically, Benkired partially severed the child’s head during the attack.
The schoolgirl’s face, nose and mouth were bound with adhesive tape, resulting in death by asphyxiation. A physician told the court Lola endured “physical, psychological and moral suffering” before she died.
“Asphyxia is very anxiety-provoking; it goes beyond physical pain,” the doctor testified, as disturbing images of Lola’s injuries were displayed. “There were probably one or more impacts to the head, which creates physical pain.”
Several family members fled the courtroom as forensic photographs were shown. Medical evidence confirmed Lola sustained “visible traumatic injuries” to her genitals and suffered “haemorrhagic trauma to various parts of the body, particularly to the child’s private parts.”
The court heard Lola had a large wound on her face and multiple slash marks across her back. Her head was partially severed in what the presiding judge described as acts of “true torture.”
CCTV footage shown during proceedings captured Benkired dragging a plastic trunk containing the child’s remains through Paris. The defendant was filmed entering a bar whilst Lola’s body lay concealed in her luggage, even opening the suitcase in full view of other patrons.
Investigators discovered the numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’ mysteriously inscribed on Lola’s feet, though no explanation emerged during trial.
Lola’s family left the courtroom when distressing images of the girl’s naked body crammed into the suitcase were displayed, her arms bound together and face completely covered in tape.
A homeless man discovered the trunk in the courtyard of the apartment block several hours after Johan Daviet reported his daughter missing to police. As the building’s caretaker, he had consulted CCTV footage that showed Lola entering at 3.20pm before following Benkired.
The defendant was arrested shortly after the discovery. Multiple psychiatric evaluations determined she was mentally competent to stand trial, with experts describing her as possessing “psychopathic tendencies” but displaying no treatable mental illness.
“Make no mistake, no drug treatment can fundamentally transform Ms Benkired’s personality,” the prosecutor told the court. “When there is no illness, there is no treatment.”
Benkired offered an apology as proceedings commenced last week. “What I did was horrible,” she stated. “I would like to ask the whole family for forgiveness. What I did was horrible and I regret it.”
Throughout the trial, however, Benkired remained largely emotionless, maintaining a blank stare and showing no visible reaction when the verdict was delivered on Friday evening.
The presiding judge emphasised the sentence reflected “the extreme cruelty of the criminal acts” and “the unspeakable psychological damage to the victim and her family in such violent and almost unspeakable circumstances,” explicitly acknowledging Johan Daviet’s death.
Lola’s mother and brother embraced and wept as the maximum sentence was delivered. “We got what we wanted; we have restored the memory of Lola, thank you to justice,” Thibault Daviet said afterwards.
Delphine Daviet added that whilst the sentence brought closure, “it won’t give us back our Lola.”
Clotilde Lepetit, representing the Daviet family, described the ruling as “a fair decision, based on reason, humanity, truth and memory.” She stated: “We restored this young girl’s memory. We restored a shattered truth.”
The irreducible life sentence, introduced into French law in 1994, has been imposed on only five individuals. Benkired joins notorious criminals including serial killer Michel Fourniret and Salah Abdeslam, the jihadist involved in the 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people. She must serve a minimum of 30 years before any review.
The case sparked immediate political controversy when it emerged that Benkired had been living in France illegally. She arrived in the country in 2016 on a student visa but overstayed her permitted residence. Authorities issued an expulsion order in August 2022, just two months before Lola’s murder, but failed to enforce the deportation.
Far-right politicians seized upon the immigration aspect, with National Rally president Jordan Bardella asserting on social media that Benkired “had no business being in France.” Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, told French television in 2022: “Lola is one barbaric murder too many. It’s been several times, too many times, that illegal immigrants, often under a temporary residence permit, have committed terrible crimes.”
France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin condemned what he termed the “indecency” of such political rhetoric, urging politicians to consider the consequences of their statements.
The Daviet family vehemently rejected attempts to exploit their daughter’s death for political purposes, requesting that Lola’s name and image not be used in partisan debates.
Anti-immigration activists unfurled a banner outside the courthouse before the trial commenced, reading: “I don’t want to be next.”
Court testimony revealed Benkired had grown up in a dysfunctional family and claimed to have suffered abuse. Her mother’s death in 2020 was described as a turning point, with her life subsequently unravelling.
Investigators discovered Benkired had conducted internet searches related to witchcraft in the days preceding the murder. She told police she had been angry with Lola’s mother, who refused to provide her with an entry badge for the building after Benkired’s sister gave her a flat key.
An investigator recalled his astonishment at Benkired’s composure after her arrest, describing her as “very arrogant” and “aggressive.” He noted she frequently lied during questioning.
The defendant had no previous criminal record, though police had recorded her as a victim of domestic violence in 2018. She was unemployed and homeless at the time of the offence, living with acquaintances across Paris.
Family members wore matching white T-shirts during the trial bearing a portrait of Lola and the inscription: “You will be the sun of our lives and the star of our nights.
Alexandre Valois, Benkired’s legal counsel, stated his client had not yet decided whether to appeal the sentence.
The tragedy has left an indelible mark on French society, with thousands attending a silent march in Lola’s honour in November 2022. A tribute service was held in the northern town of Béthune, where Lola was born on 18 July 2010. The aerobics champion was a pupil at Collège Georges Brassens in Paris.
Johan Daviet had relocated to his mother’s home in Fouquereuil, near Béthune, following the separation from his wife. A family relative confirmed his mother is “collapsed” by the loss of both her granddaughter and son. The relative stated there was no doubt Johan’s death resulted from the shock of losing his child. He had lost everything: his daughter, his job, his home, and had separated from his wife.
Before his death, Johan spoke publicly about the devastating impact of the crime. “In truth, she didn’t just destroy a child’s life: she destroyed an entire family,” he declared on French radio.
The case represents France’s most severe punishment for a female offender and underscores the nation’s determination to deliver justice for crimes of exceptional brutality against children, whilst simultaneously exposing failures in immigration enforcement that allowed a woman under deportation orders to remain in the country and commit murder.
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