The mother of a nine-year-old girl who was stabbed to death has paid tribute to her “happy” daughter as she launched a campaign to create a statue in her memory.
Lilia Valutyte was found dead in a street in Boston, Lincolnshire, on 29 July, after being stabbed in the chest.
Deividas Skebas, 22, appeared in court, charged with her murder, last week, where he was remanded into custody.
In a statement issued through Lincolnshire Police, her mother Lina said: “There are so many things we could say, but we are not going to talk a lot about who she was and share those stories from our home; they are ours, and we want to keep them for us.
“You find yourself looking for her everywhere. We had four corners and now one is gone.”
New photos shared by the young girl’s family showed her dressed in a blue bubble suit at a bike show in Boston, visiting an aquarium and sharing a hug with her younger sister, Liepa, at a dance competition.
“She was just a normal child, one day she’s happy and another she isn’t, one day she wants to eat pancakes and another she doesn’t – the usual things,” Lina added,
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“She loved to dance, travel and try new things, and annoy her sister. She wanted to go to Italy, so we will probably go anyway next year.”
Lilia’s stepfather Aurelijus continued: “She was cheeky; quiet in one way and then other ways she wasn’t. She always tried to make fun.”
‘The memorial is a way for her to still be there’
The family are aiming to raise enough money to create a memorial statue, which they hope will be installed in Boston town centre – close to Fountain Lane where Lilia was killed.
The former pupil of Boston Pioneers Academy and Carlton Road Academy had reportedly been playing with her younger sister on the street, just yards from an office where their mother was working at the time.
The girls had a hula-hoop, and a toy pram was left at the scene, according to local residents.
Lina said: “Lilia was grown in that street, every week she spent down there playing, and it happened next to the window.
“The memorial is a way for her to still be there, and we’re now fundraising to get it.”
The statue will either take the form of an angel with Lilia’s face, or it will take her full likeness, police said.
A close family friend has set up the fundraising page through Just Giving, where donations can be made.
