Ln October 24, the Paris Assize Court sentenced Dahbia Benkired to life imprisonment without reduction for the murder of little Lola, in 2022. A sanction that rarely reaches this level of severity, has never before been imposed on a woman, and which the defendant did not wish to challenge. For the child’s family, this decision marks a step, not towards oblivion, which is unlikely, but towards slow reconstruction.
Speaking on BFMTV, the little girl’s mother, Delphine Daviet, admitted she felt “relieved” when she learned that Dahbia Benkired “will be locked up for the rest of her life.” A form of appeasement that does not relieve the pain: “We have to wait, little by little, until (the pain) subsides. It’s still complicated,” he said in a measured voice. For families, the legal process remains a journey that is mandatory, hard and full of trials. The debate recalled, with unbearable precision, the “extreme cruelty” of the facts, the “inhumane torture” inflicted on children, as the chief justice put it.
“I always have that image in my head”
Lola’s older brother, Thibault Daviet, is also trying to accept this new reality. The closure of the trial, and especially the absence of an appeal, provided her first respite: “At first it was difficult, because I was always imagining what was said. Now I’m starting to feel relieved, because she can’t appeal. So we can’t relive it,” she admits.
But the teenager immediately became angry: “But there was always a part of me that told me that it would not bring my sister back in all cases. » For Thibault, a confrontation with the defendant was inevitable. He wanted to defend his views: “I had to see him, he was the last person my sister saw (before she died). I had to see what he looked like, but also how he felt. Throughout the trial, I didn’t get the impression that he was disgusted by being there. »
“Leaving him in prison means saving some people”
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In her final speech, Dahbia Benkired made an apology which was categorically rejected by Delphine Daviet. The mother cannot consider forgiveness: “This is unforgivable, there are no words. What he did was so cruel that I cannot look at him and say, “I forgive you.” »
If the sentence imposed is final, the law theoretically provides for the possibility of parole which can be requested after thirty years in prison. A prospect the mother approaches with disgust: “I would have it very badly (…) But I don’t think she’ll get out. » Her son shares these concerns, but puts it bluntly: “He doesn’t deserve to see the light of day again. He remains a dangerous person, leaving him in prison would mean saving some people weaker than him. »
