Outcry in France as it emerges woman 'who killed Lola' overstayed visa

‘The assassin should not have been in France’: Outcry as it emerges woman ‘who killed Lola and stuffed her into a suitcase’ was Algerian who had overstayed her visa

• Homeless woman Dahbia B, 24, has been charged with the torture, rape and murder of Lola Daviet, 12
• It was confirmed today that the suspect was an Algerian national who had overstayed her student visa
• The revelation has sparked outcry in France, with one politician saying the murder ‘should not have happened’
• French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said: ‘Too many crimes are being committed by clandestine immigrants’
• An official motive has not been given but an alleged row between the suspect and Lola’s mother is one theory
• Lola was found dead inside a suitcase near her home with the numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’ imprinted on her body
  

A woman accused of the horrific torture, rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Paris is an Algerian national who overstayed her visa, it was confirmed today, sparking outcry in France.

Dahbia B., who arrived in France in 2016 on a student residence permit, was indicted yesterday after the body of young Lola Daviet was found stuffed in a suitcase on the street with a slit to her throat, signs of torture and sexual violence, and the letters 1 and 0 imprinted on her corpse.

As authorities confirmed reports that the suspect was an illegal immigrant, some politicians said the killing showed failings in the government’s law and order policies.

‘This murder should not have happened. The assassin should not have been in France,’ said conservative Olivier Marleix, president of the Les Republicains National Assembly group. ‘There is a very deep emotion in our country.’

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said in parliament: ‘Too many crimes are being committed by clandestine immigrants one has not been able or willing to deport.’

Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne hit back, asking her to ‘show some decency’.

Dahbia B. arrived legally in France in 2016 on a student residence permit. But she was notified with an obligation to leave French territory in August after failing to produce a valid residence permit.

She was arrested at an airport on August 21 by police but had no further dealings with them until Friday’s killing.

A homeless woman accused of the horrific torture, rape and murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet (pictured) in Paris was an Algerian national who had overstayed her visa, it was confirmed today, sparking outcry. Lola’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase with a slit to her throat, signs of torture and sexual violence, and the letters 1 and 0 imprinted on her corpse

Lola is seen partially obscured by the door as she follows her suspected killer, pictured centre. The suspect is seen wearing a grey jumper, white leggings and trainers. Lola quickly followed her into the building. As authorities confirmed reports that the suspect was an illegal immigrant, some politicians have said the killing showed failings in government policies

Lola is pictured in this CCTV footage still wearing a white coat and carrying what appears to be her schoolbag alongside the suspect

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said in parliament: ‘Too many crimes are being committed by clandestine immigrants one has not been able or willing to deport. Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne hit back, asking her to ‘show some decency’. Pictured: Le Pen speaks in parliament on October 11

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Lola’s parents on Tuesday. ‘He offered them his condolences and assured them of all his solidarity and support in the ordeal they are going through and which upsets us all,’ his office said.

At Lola’s home, neighbours laid flowers and candles in tribute to her. ‘It’s unbearable,’ said a neighbour who declined to give her name. ‘We’ve been living in this neighbourhood for years and we’ve just come here to give support to the family, in leaving a bouquet, because like many people, this breaks our hearts.’

Another neighbour said: ‘Twelve years old… poor girl … it doesn’t make any sense.’

Paris investigators are probing whether Dahbia B. may have killed Lola by mistake after confusing the girl for her mother, although no official motive has been given for the shocking killing.

Prosecutors said yesterday the suspect who has ‘serious psychological problems’, made ‘varying statements, switching between admitting and denying the facts of the case’. 

One possible theory is an apparent argument between Dahbia B. and Lola’s parents, Delphine and Johan, over their apartment block.

The suspect had tried to move in with her sister in the same building the middle-class Daviet family live in and are custodians for, but Delphine refused to give the homeless woman an access pass.

Investigators believe the killing could have been an act of revenge with the attacker even confusing the 12-year-old girl for her mother, France Bleu reported.

Prosecutors said yesterday Dahbia B. had brought Lola to her sister’s apartment where she forced her to take a shower, then ‘committed harm of a sexual nature and other violent acts against (Lola) that caused her death, and hid her body in the trunk’.

When the suspect, who has no criminal record but was the victim of domestic violence in 2018, was shown photographs of Lola’s body, she allegedly replied: ‘It does not make me hot or cold. I too was raped and saw my parents die in front of me.’

Lola’s parents Delphine and Johan (pictured) are professional caretakers of a number of buildings in northern Paris, including the one where they live

Passers-by look at flowers displayed outside the building where a 12-year-old schoolgirl Lola lived and who was murdered, on October 18, 2022 in Paris, France

Flowers and messages are displayed outside the building where a 12-year-old schoolgirl Lola lived

CCTV footage had emerged showing both the alleged killer and her victim next to the block of flats where Lola lived with her parents who owned properties across northern France.

Lola’s mutilated body was later found near the building, in the city’s 19th arrondissement. 

‘The suspect had boasted about selling body parts,’ said an investigating source. ‘Evidence suggests that the girl was taken into the basement of the flat, where she was tortured, and raped, before being strangled and having her throat cut.’

The source added: ‘The suspect is believed to suffer with serious psychological problems. She was living on the street, but had friends and family in the Paris area.’ A judicial source confirmed Dahbia B was in custody charged with ‘the murder of a child under 15, rape, and torture’.  

On Friday night after the body was discovered, three people were arrested near the scene.

Then, a woman, who was spotted on CCTV with the schoolgirl hours before her death, was also held. Two others were also arrested and all are originally from Algeria, Le Parisien said.

Of the six initially arrested, which included Dahbia B’s older sister Friha B, four are now considered innocent of any wrongdoing.

One 43-year-old man, who is known to the main suspect, still faces charges over allegedly making a car available to the suspect over the weekend.

Now it is thought the alleged killer ‘acted alone and gratuitously’ in allegedly carrying out the murder, according to judicial sources. 

Security stand outside the Georges Brassens middle school in Paris as pupils returned shocked after the death of their classmate

Flower tributes to Lola were left outside her school this morning, with pupils offered psychological counselling

Lola’s parents had called police after their daughter did not return from middle school on Friday afternoon.

The victim’s mother went to police at 5pm on Friday evening when she became worried that her daughter had not returned home, and posted a desperate appeal for help on social media. 

Mrs Daviet posted an image of Lola accompanied by the following message: ‘Our daughter Lola was last seen at 3.20pm in the company of a woman we do not know in our residence.’ 

Her father, the custodian in the building, saw the unknown woman enter the building in Paris’ 19th district alongside his daughter when he checked the CCTV recordings.

Witnesses later said they saw the woman dragging the suitcase which was ‘stained with blood’ and ‘smelt strongly of bleach’.

An investigating source said: ‘The alleged murderer somehow earned her victim’s confidence and led her into a cellar below the building, where the attack happened.

‘The attacker had been talking about selling organs and body parts, but none of this makes sense. She acted alone and gratuitously, and defiled her victim before killing her.’

Lola’s parents are professional caretakers of a number of buildings in northern Paris, including the one where they live.

They also own two houses in the village of Fouquereuil, near Bethune, northern France, and a mobile holiday home in Rang-du-Fliers, on the English Channel coast. Friends have set up a fundraiser for the grief-stricken family.

The victim’s mother Delphine went to police at 5pm on Friday evening when she became worried that her daughter had not returned home

Lola was a pupil at the Georges Brassens school, just yards from her home. Local residents placed flowers at the gate of the family’s building over the weekend, an AFP reporter saw.

One mother told AFP that her daughter, another pupil who knew Lola by sight, was ‘not doing well today, she doesn’t want to go to school.’

‘Today it’s time for mourning and for the investigation, which seems to be progressing quickly,’ 19th district mayor Francois Dagnaud said during a visit to the Georges-Brassens school.

‘What’s important is that the main suspect for now has been arrested, there’s no psychopath roaming the streets of this neighbourhood,’ he added after local parents reported fears for their children’s safety.

‘Of course, the fact that a 12-year-old child can die in such circumstances is overwhelming for everybody,’ he added, saying that counselling would also be offered to local residents.

A homeless man was the first to discover the body, which sources familiar with the investigation said was hidden under cloths in a plastic box in the building’s courtyard. 

The victim was discovered with her feet and wrists bound, tape around her face and several cuts to her throat, just hours after she was reported missing by her parents when she failed to return after class.

She had numbers placed on her body by a ‘device’, rather than cut into her skin, according to a police source cited by French broadcaster BFMTV.

A post-mortem examination on Saturday concluded that she had died of asphyxiation following a physical attack that included a knife being used to cut her body.

Chilling security camera footage has emerged which showed the girl, dressed in a white outfit and carrying what appears to be a schoolbag, walking into her building behind a woman who witnesses claimed was later seen carrying the suitcase.

Lola’s corpse was discovered on Friday evening by a homeless man who saw an abandoned suitcase on the street 

A message reads ‘Lola, rest in peace’ along with a bouquet of flowers displayed outside her school three days after her death

The schoolgirl’s face was covered in tape, her feet and fists were bound, and she had suffered several cuts to her throat, according to reports

A post-mortem examination on Saturday concluded that she had died of asphyxiation following a physical attack that included a knife being used to cut her body

One resident said he saw the suspect dragging the suitcase around two hours prior to Lola’s disappearance, and was offered money to help her move it. 

‘We saw her go into the building, and she was dragging the suitcase with her,’ he said. ‘She did not seem right in the mind.’

Others saw the suspect drinking a coffee and eating a croissant as she appeared to ‘try and work out what to do next’.

Police told French media they had uncovered signs of kidnapping in the basement of the building and launched a murder enquiry.

Investigators tracked her movements on CCTV cameras from the building and the surrounding area as well as using phone records and physical searches. 

The 43-year-old man also questioned in custody on Monday admitted that he brought the 24-year-old woman to his home with the trunk and two suitcases, where he said she stayed for two hours before leaving again in a chauffeur-driven car he had called for her.

‘What’s important is that the main suspect for now has been arrested, there’s no psychopath roaming the streets of this neighbourhood,’ said 19th district mayor Francois Dagnaud said during a visit to the Georges-Brassens school.

‘Of course, the fact that a 12-year-old child can die in such circumstances is overwhelming for everybody,’ he added, saying that counselling would also be offered to local residents

Parisian officials indicated that staff and students of the Georges Brassens school, as well as neighbouring schools in the area, would receive psychological support. 

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