New photos of nine-year-old Lilia Valutyte have been shared by her devastated family just weeks after she was stabbed to death while playing in the street. The schoolgirl had been playing outside in Boston, Lincolnshire, with her five-year-old sister when she was attacked on Thursday, July 28.
The pictures show Lilia dressed in a blue bubble suit, at a bike show, messing about in the kitchen, at an aquarium, and at a dance competition sharing a hug with her sister Liepa, three. The new photos have been released as Lilia's mum Lina Savicke, 35, and stepfather Aurelijus reveal plans to create a statue in memory of the "cheeky" little girl who "always tried to make fun".
Speaking quietly as Liepa played with a balloon from Frozen, Lina said that as parents they want to look forwards as they remember her, and they are calling on others to do the same. It is hoped the statue will be installed in Boston town centre, close to Fountain Lane, the street where she lost her life, LincolnshireLive reports.
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. A JustGiving page has been set up by a close family friend to raise £10,000 to pay for the creation of the memorial.
It is fitting for the memorial statue to be placed in Boston, the family say, as Lilia lived nearly all her life in the town. Born at Boston Pilgrim Hospital, Lilia most recently attended Boston Pioneers Academy in Fydell Crescent, and prior to that was a pupil at Carlton Road Academy. The family had moved away for a short time, but came back to the town.
Adding his own memories, Aurelijus said: “She was cheeky; quiet in one way and then other ways she wasn't. She always tried to make fun.”
It is the normalcy of everyday life that will no longer be experienced which is hard for the family to deal with. Lina added: "It’s hard to know what to say. 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.
"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.”
The family want to keep further details about the more personal parts of Lilia’s life, and their memories of her, private. “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,” said Lina. “You find yourself looking for her everywhere. We had four corners and now one is gone.”
Fruit picker Deividas Skebas, 22, appeared in court on Monday, August 1, charged with Lilia's murder in Boston. An inquest has heard Lilia died from a single stab wound and was identified by her stepdad. Her mum worked in a recruitment office just yards away from where her daughter was stabbed.
Lilia, of Carlton Road, was confirmed dead at Pilgrim Hospital, in Boston, following an incident in Fountain Lane at about 6.20pm on Thursday, July 28, the inquest was told. Skebas, of Thorold Street, Boston, was remanded in custody at Lincoln Crown Court. A plea hearing is set for September 19.
