France: Life Without Parole for Murderer of 12-Year-Old Lola

Earlier this month, the trial of Dahbia Benkired, a 27-year-old Algerian woman, began in Paris. She was charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting, torturing, and ultimately murdering a 12-year-old girl, whom all of France has come to know as Lola.

On October 24, Benkired was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. She is the first woman in French history to be sentenced to life without parole.

In the article below from Le Parisien, it is now reported that Benkired will not appeal the sentence. The article is translated by Fousesquawk. The article also contains a short video of Lola’s brother and mother making a statement following the verdict. We are working to add English subtitles to that video.

“She wishes that we don’t talk about her anymore”: Dahbia Benkired will not appeal her conviction for the death of Lola

Dahbia Benkired was sentenced by the Criminal Court of Paris on October 24 to life imprisonment without (the possibility) of parole for the murder and rape of Lola, 12, in October 2022.

-By Le Parisien

November 4, 2025 at 09:44. updated November 4, 2025 at 11:59

Caption: Dahbia Benkired, 27, was sentenced in late October in Paris for the rape and gruesome murder of Lola, a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

There will not be a second trial. Dahbia Benkired, sentenced to the maximum punishment provided by the penal code for the murder of Lola, did not appeal the decision rendered on October 24 by the Criminal Court of Paris, her defense counsel, Attorney Alexandre Valois, informed Le Parisien. 

The other defense counsel for Dahbia Benkired, Attorney Lucile Berier, also stated that, “Our client decided not to file an appeal for her own personal reasons. Her decision was made a long time ago, but we could not communicate that,” she continues, “because she had the right to change her mind up to the last moment given the sentence pronounced. She now wishes that we no longer talk about her.” 

“We believed in justice, and we got it”

Dahbia Benkired, 27, had been found guilty of rape, acts of torture, barbarities, and the murder of Lola and had been sentenced on October 24 to life imprisonment without the (possibility) of parole. 

“This is a just decision. We have restored the memory, the truth of this young girl,” Clotilde Lepetit, attorney for Lola’s family, declared.  “Justice will allow us to go forward. The punishment is equal to the immensity of the crime committed.”

“We got what we wanted, we restored the memory of my sister, we restored the truth. Thank you to the justice system, (and) we are happy with the response we have received,” Thibault Daviet, Lola’s brother, reacted after the announcement of the verdict. “Even if this does not bring our Lola back to us,” her mother, Delphine Daviet, concluded in tears. “Thank you to all for the support. We believed in justice, and we got it.”

Lola, 12, was found dead in Paris on October 14, 2022, a few hours after her parents reported her disappearance. Her corpse, sexually violated, had been enclosed in a trunk, abandoned in the courtyard of her apartment building.

Source: http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2025/11/france-life-without-parole-for-murderer.html