Today it was revealed that the fruit picker who is accused of killing Lilia Valutyte, 9, was formerly an altar boy at his country church in Lithuania.
When he was just a young teenager, Deividas Skebas wore white robes and assisted his neighbourhood priest in leading mass and at events like christenings and weddings.
Now that Skebas, 22, has dark hair, MailOnline can publish a photo of him at his first communion when he was around 14 years old in the St. Joseph church in Lelinai, Lithuania.
Everyone in the village, according to one resident, is horrified that he has been accused of killing a little girl. He was remembered as a typical, courteous child in this community.
Lilia, a Lithuanian national, was fatally stabbed outside her mother’s embroidery shop in Boston, Lincolnshire, on Sunday, and Skebas was charged with her murder.
On Thursday, July 30, when she was having fun with her favourite hula hoop and her five-year-old sister in a calm town centre alley, the horrifying tragedy took place.
Skebas was born and raised in the small Lithuanian village of Lelinai, about ten miles northeast of the industrial city of Utena.
His builder father Darius Skebas and mother Daiva Skebien, 42, who owns a flower shop in Utena, continue to reside with their 18-year-old daughter in the top floor apartment of a three-story building in the village.
The family is reportedly constructing a new home for themselves close by.
Skebas is believed to have spent the majority of his formative years in the village, which is distinguished by its tiny hilltop red-brick Roman Catholic church.
Before coming to the UK to work in a factory in Lincolnshire, it is thought that he briefly worked with his father in Norway.
It’s thought that he had just recently moved back to the UK after spending some time there.
He was residing about 200 yards from the location in Fountain Lane where Lilia died from a single stab wound to her chest at the time of her death in a Victorian semi-detached home on Thorold Street in Boston.
Danut Titenien, Skebas’ grandmother, also resides in a home in Lelinai with her gravely ill husband and holds a senior officer position with the regional municipal council.
According to a villager who spoke to the Lithuanian daily Lietuvos Rytas, Skebas is a “nice, pleasant, sincere, young man.”
We met in a store last summer, the resident continued. He approached me, greeted me, and enquired about my wellbeing.
I questioned Deividas, “Why are you in such a hurry?” He claimed that he and his parents were constructing a home, which is why he was fleeing.
Skebas was characterised as “usually a kind, pleasant young man” by a worker at one of the village’s two stores.
“I last saw him maybe a couple of months ago,” the assistant continued. He made no unfounded accusations. He appeared to be acting normally and was still as adorable as ever.
David was a good youngster, according to a different senior citizen. He may not have completed his courses, but he used to travel to work in Norway with his father.
Because David actually used to work in Norway, I was even startled to learn that he was now living in England.
A second villager told MailOnline that Danut is a very kind woman who is well-known in the community for raising her brother’s four children.
“Her daughter and her husband are both incredibly polite and well-respected individuals. Whoever has transpired cannot be believed.
In Boston, which is well-known for having a sizable Eastern European community, Lilia’s passing sparked an outpouring of mourning.
Locals have laid hundreds of flower tributes and cuddly toys at the top of Fountain Lane as a memorial to her.
Jurate Matulioniene, a family friend, described Lilia as “a 9-year-old angel” and “one of the most beautiful beings” in a Facebook tribute, adding that “None will share her mother’s anguish.”
The girl was a beacon of sunshine, exactly like her parents, who were the major helpers of our neighbourhood and school events, she said. The suffering is unbearable. We are heartbroken by this tragic development! Peace be with you, little angel.
Other acquaintances recalled Lilia’s passion of dance and Harry Potter novels. Lilia lived with her mother Lina Savicke and stepfather Aurelijus Savickas.
She was killed by a single knife wound on July 30 at around 6:20 p.m. on Fountain Lane, which is only a hundred yards from the town’s renowned St. Botolph’s Church, also known as the Boston Stump.
The incident took place outside the Sava Code screen printing and embroidery business, which her Lithuanian mother Lina Savicke started in March of this year.
The big Lithuanian community in Boston is recognised for Lina and her husband, who served as Lilia’s stepfather, and they frequently participate in community events.
In an interview last week, Lina, who also works at a recruiting agency just next to her shop, described the awful moment of her daughter’s death.
She said that her daughter had been stabbed “only 10 steps” from her place of employment.
When the kids were playing outside my windows on that tragic day, I was giving a gift to my friend, Lina recalled.
“As I turned the corner and raced, I heard someone call, “Mum!””
“I go outside and watch how my small kid simply bled to death while standing a metre away from the huge one.”
Skebas’ mother had phoned Lina to express her sorrow and to give support, Lina also told.
She said: “His mother called,” according to news source Delfi Plus. I’ve heard he’s from a really respectable family. She committed to taking care of whatever she can.
At her house today, Skebas’ mother declined to speak. She opened her front door for a split second, stating, “I will surely not speak to you,” while a dog growled in the distance.