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A Paris court handed 27-year-old Dahbia Benkired a rare whole-life sentence for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet, ordering she serve at least 30 years. The first woman in France to receive this penalty, Benkired joins a list including Michel Fourniret and Salah Abdeslam. Lola was killed in October 2022; her body was found in a plastic storage box at her building in north-eastern Paris. Prosecutors, citing psychiatric findings of "psychopathic" traits but sanity, sought the harshest term. Her mother and brother heard the verdict as Benkired apologized, while right-wing and far-right politicians seized on the case.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.