Father Dies of Grief After 12-Year-Old Daughter’s Murder by Algerian Migrant Shocks France
The Tragedy That Shattered a Family
The mother of a 12-year-old French schoolgirl brutally raped, tortured, and beheaded by an Algerian migrant has revealed that the child’s father later died of grief. The revelation came during a court hearing that laid bare one of France’s most harrowing recent crimes — a murder that left a lasting scar on the nation’s conscience and reignited divisions over immigration enforcement.
Lola Daviet’s mutilated body was found in a suitcase in October 2022, sparking nationwide outrage. Her father, Johan Daviet, who struggled to cope with the horror and loss, succumbed to what his wife called “an unbearable grief” in February 2024.
As the trial concluded with a historic life sentence for 27-year-old Algerian national Dhabia Benkired — the first woman to receive such a sentence in France — the courtroom turned into a space of both anguish and reckoning over a tragedy that redefined the nation’s conversation on justice and responsibility.
A Crime That Stopped France in Its Tracks
Lola’s murder shocked even a country long familiar with violent crime. On an autumn evening in 2022, her body was discovered stuffed inside a black suitcase near her family’s Paris apartment building. Witnesses reported seeing a young woman behaving erratically, dragging the suitcase through the courtyard. When authorities opened it, they found Lola’s partially decapitated body sealed with duct tape. The numbers “1” and “0” were written on her feet — a chilling detail that investigators never fully explained.
The autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted and tortured before dying from suffocation and multiple stab wounds inflicted with scissors. The brutality of the act, its senselessness, and the youth of the victim blurred the lines between murder and pure atrocity in public discourse.
The Perpetrator: An Overstayed Migrant Facing Expulsion
Benkired, a 27-year-old Algerian national, had entered France on a short-term student visa but failed to leave when it expired. Authorities issued an expulsion notice months before the crime, yet no action was taken. At the time of the murder, she was living precariously on the streets, drifting between acquaintances’ homes, and engaging in prostitution to survive.
Prosecutors told the court that Benkired lured young Lola into her sister’s apartment after an argument with building management — a dispute allegedly triggered by her being denied an entry key by the Daviet couple, who managed the residence. Once inside, she forced the child to shower, undress, and submit to her twisted commands before carrying out the killing.
Lawyers portrayed Benkired as acting in an “uncontrolled fit of rage.” But for the Daviet family, and for many in France, the act symbolized something far darker — the collapse of a state apparatus meant to protect citizens from those ordered to be deported.
The Father’s Gradual Collapse
Throughout the investigation, Johan Daviet remained a quiet, broken figure. Witnesses described him as a reliable and reserved man devoted to both his family and his work as the caretaker of the apartment complex. But on the day authorities confirmed his daughter’s death, his life unraveled.
“He had been sober for years,” his wife, Delphine Daviet, told the court, her voice trembling. “But the day they found Lola, he opened a bottle. He didn’t stop after that.” Johan’s health deteriorated rapidly. By the end of 2023, he was described as “a shadow of himself,” drinking heavily from dawn to nightfall, tormented by the images of his child’s suffering. In February 2024, at age 49, he was found dead. Doctors cited organ failure worsened by sustained alcohol abuse. His wife called it what it truly was: “He died of grief.”
A Nation Gripped by Outrage
The killing sent shockwaves through France’s political and social landscape. Tens of thousands gathered in silent vigils, holding photos of the smiling schoolgirl whose future was stolen. Protesters in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille demanded accountability, chanting for justice and stricter immigration enforcement.
Political figures across the spectrum condemned the crime, but it was the revelation of Benkired’s immigration status that ignited a nationwide debate. How could someone officially ordered to leave France still roam freely months later? The question triggered parliamentary investigations and fierce public argument over government efficiency and the country’s deportation protocols.
One lawmaker addressed the chamber bluntly: “Lola lost her life because the system failed to enforce her murderer’s expulsion order.” For many French citizens, the statement encapsulated their outrage — and their fear that another Lola could exist, unprotected, in any neighborhood across the country.
Inside the Courtroom: Horror and Remorse
During the trial, forensic experts described in detail the extent of the girl’s injuries. Photos shown to the court revealed a series of deep incisions across Lola’s body, including genital wounds. The testimony established that Lola was conscious during much of her ordeal, a revelation that silenced even seasoned observers.
Benkired sat motionless as prosecutors recounted the events, occasionally bowing her head. When allowed to speak, she expressed remorse: “I would like to ask the whole family for forgiveness. What I did was horrible, and I regret it.” Her words, delivered softly through tears, were met with stony silence from the victim’s family.
The court ultimately imposed the maximum penalty under French law: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole — the first time such a sentence had been given to a woman in the country. The presiding judge said the punishment reflected “the unspeakable psychological damage inflicted upon the victims and the grotesque violence of the act.”
Psychological and Social Reverberations
For the French public, Lola’s death remains more than a crime; it is seen as a national wound. In schools, teachers described classmates of Lola grappling with nightmares and fear of strangers. Psychologists warned of the lasting trauma such crimes can inflict on a community, particularly one that felt safe before tragedy struck.
Sociologists later observed a surge in online activism and local petitions pushing for stronger deportation enforcement and closer surveillance of migrants with expired visas. Critics, however, warned against conflating individual atrocity with immigration policy, urging reason over reaction. Still, public opinion polls after the trial showed growing support for rapid deportation procedures and tougher background checks.
Historical and Legal Context
While France has witnessed numerous high-profile murder cases, few have sparked such deeply emotional and political reactions. The brutality of the killing and the age of the victim drew comparisons to infamous crimes like the 2011 Laetitia Perrais case in western France, which also prompted calls for judicial reforms.
However, the Daviet tragedy stood out for another reason — its intersection with immigration enforcement. Records revealed that French authorities failed to act on more than 100,000 deportation orders in 2022, most due to bureaucratic delay or lack of cooperation from origin countries. Lola’s murder renewed scrutiny of these systemic gaps, prompting temporary policy reviews but little lasting structural change.
The Mother’s Testimony and Memory of a Child
As the verdict was read, Delphine Daviet sat clutching a small photograph of her daughter in a blue school sweatshirt. Her testimony — raw and unfiltered — gave the courtroom a glimpse of life before the tragedy. Lola, she said, was “curious about everything, generous, and full of laughter.” She played the piano and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.
Speaking directly to the accused, Delphine called her “this thing, this monster” and asked, “Why did my daughter follow you? What did she ever do to deserve that?” When asked about her husband’s final message, Delphine produced a handwritten letter Johan had left taped to the killer’s door before his death: “My darling, I still don’t understand why there was so much cruelty and barbarity toward you, you who were so kind.”
A Verdict That Ends a Chapter but Not the Pain
With Benkired’s life sentence confirmed, France may have closed one judicial chapter, but the emotional resonance continues. Public memorials remain outside the Daviet family’s former apartment. Strangers still leave flowers beneath the window where Lola once waved to her father returning from work.
The trial’s conclusion does not erase the anguish, but it gives the grieving mother and her surviving son a semblance of closure. “There will never be peace,” Delphine said outside the courthouse. “But at least there is justice.”
Lola’s name has joined the tragic roll call of French children whose deaths reshaped public consciousness. Her story remains a symbol not only of terrible loss but also of a society struggling to balance compassion, justice, and the need for safety in a rapidly changing world.