A female defendant charged with abusing and brutalizing a 12-year-old girl before leaving her to suffocate will go on trial for homicide this Friday in a case that shocked the country and caused political waves.
Finding the Deceased Girl
The young victim’s remains was discovered stuffed into a plastic trunk that had been dumped on the street near her family home.
The 27-year-old accused, 27 years old, faces charges for the killing of a child, violent sexual assault, torture and an act of barbarity in a incident that provoked widespread horror across the nation three years ago.
Political Reactions
Far-right groups sought to gain political capital from the tragic killing after it was revealed that Benkired, who was born in Algeria, lacked authorization to reside in France and had been issued with an order to leave two months previously.
Sequence of Occurrences
The young girl had walked a few hundred yards from her educational institution and reached her home in the Parisian district, where her family served as the property custodians, around 3pm on a Friday in mid-October 2022.
The building’s video surveillance captured Benkired, who was without housing or work but staying at her sibling’s apartment in the residential block, encountering the girl just after 3pm in front of the property.
Police Inquiry and Detention
Daviet’s parents notified authorities when their child did not appear home. An hour and a half later, the suspect was filmed in the entrance hallway of the building surrounded by luggage including a sizeable container.
The defendant, who was reported to provide confused accounts of the incident, was examined by several psychiatrists and clinical evaluators but judged fit for court proceedings. She has been detained at Fresnes prison in the Paris region for the last three years.
Government Responses
In the wake of the killing, a nationalist political party attempted to make electoral leverage out of the alleged murderer’s unauthorized residency. Éric Pauget, of the rightwing Les Républicains, stated during legislative session that the victim had been killed as a result of France’s purported weakness on migration policy.
However, elected officials were advised by ministers of the centrist government to “demonstrate basic respect”.
The then justice minister, Éric Dupond-Moretti, charged them of playing “partisan games” and using “the coffin of a 12-year-old girl” to advance their political narrative.
Legal Framework and Potential Sentence
In the French legal system, any sexual violation of any kind, perpetrated against another person by violence, coercion, menaces or surprise, is considered rape. Benkired could receive a maximum imprisonment term if convicted.
The court proceedings will run until the following week when a verdict is anticipated.
