Algerian Woman Sentenced to Life for Brutal Murder of French Schoolgirl

On October 24, 2025, a French court handed down a life sentence without the possibility of early release to Dahbia Benkired, an Algerian woman accused of raping, torturing, and murdering a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Paris last year. The verdict makes Benkired the first woman in France to receive the country's harshest criminal punishment.

The horrific case, which shocked the nation, involved the death of Lola Daviet, whose body was found in a trunk in the lobby of the building where her parents worked as caretakers. Investigators determined that Benkired, now 27 years old, had raped and tortured the young victim before suffocating her to death.

The presiding judge cited the "extreme cruelty of the criminal acts" and the "unspeakable psychological damage to the victim and her family" in handing down the life sentence. The public prosecutor had argued that the punishment should reflect "the extreme gravity" of the crimes and "the suffering" they caused Lola's family.

The case also sparked anti-immigration sentiment in France, as it was revealed that Benkired had overstayed a student visa and failed to comply with a notice to leave the country. Conservative and far-right politicians seized on the tragedy to call for stricter enforcement of immigration laws.

However, the victim's mother has urged politicians to stop exploiting her daughter's death for political gain. Three psychiatric experts also noted "psychopathic" tendencies in Benkired, concluding that she did not suffer from any mental health condition that could be cured.