This morning, mourners gathered in Boston, Lincolnshire, for the burial of Lilia Valutyte, 9, who was stabbed to death earlier this year.
A parade of locals gathered to accompany a white and pink horse-drawn carriage through the town.
A video posted online shows four men bringing a white casket inside St. Botolph’s Church while it is decorated with vibrant butterflies and flowers. A lengthy procession of mourners in all black trailed behind them.
A horse-drawn casket carrying Lilia’s body through Boston was at the front of the 11.30am procession.
There will be a family-only burial conducted after the church ceremony.
After playing with her five-year-old sister outside her mother’s embroidery business on July 28, Lilia was discovered bleeding from knife wounds.
Video captures the moment Lilia was playing with a hula hoop with her five-year-old brother in broad daylight on a street, as the two often did while their mother was at work, only 10 minutes before she was assaulted.
In an effort to shave Lilia, police were spotted rushing up to her with first aid kits.
Deividas Skebas, a 22-year-old fruit picker from Lithuania, is charged with killing the nine-year-old by stabbing him.
An outpouring of sadness over Lilia’s death has occurred in a town with a sizable Eastern European population.
Lilia was referred as as “a nine-year-old angel” and “one of the most beautiful animals” by a family acquaintance, who also said that “none will know her mother’s anguish.”
The kid was a beacon of sunshine, much like her parents, who were instrumental in making our neighbourhood and school activities successful.
The suffering is unbearable. We are heartbroken by this tragic development! Peace be with you, little angel.
Skebas hails from the northeastern Lithuanian industrial city of Utena, where some of his relatives still reside.
Over the weekend, forensic detectives searched a home with a view of Central Park in Boston.
Lilia’s murder was called “heartbreaking” by Chief Superintendent Martyn Parker, who also noted that “many individuals in Boston, and farther afield,” have been impacted by the case.