Deividas Skebas, 26, denied murdering Lilia Valutyte but later admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
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A schizophrenic man has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years in jail after stabbing a nine-year-old girl through the heart with a knife while she was playing with a hula hoop in the street.
Jurors in the murder trial heard how Lilia Valutyte was killed by 26-year-old Deividas Skebas in a "wicked act" in Fountain Lane in Boston, Lincolnshire, on July 28 2022 while her mother was working nearby.
Skebas. a Lithuanian national, had denied murdering Lilia but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, with a jury ultimately convicting him of murder at Lincoln Crown Court earlier this month.
Summing up the case, Mr Justice Choudhury said the 9-year-old victim was "just nine years old when her life was cut short."
Handing down his sentence, the judge described Lilia as a "carefree, happy girl", adding that the child "should have been safe" as she was playing with her hula hoop.
"How could anyone imagine that within seconds she would be stabbed by a complete stranger and left to die?" he said.
"Yours was a shocking and horrific act of violence."Nothing I can do or say today can relieve the pain of losing Lilia."
Jurors were told that there is no dispute that Skebas stabbed and killed Lilia, but they must decide what the defendant's state of mind was when he killed her.
Mr Justice Choudhury says Skebas had bought an "ordinary kitchen knife" from a shop, which he later used to kill Lilia.
He went on to
In a victim impact statement read for her by her husband, Aurelijus Savickas, the grieving mother said: “During these nine years we lived life fully, we visited many places, we didn’t stand still.”
About her grief, Mrs Savickiene said: “This is not something you recover from.“Sometimes terrifying thoughts overwhelm the mind and during this trial there have been many, many more.”
She added: “Why her? Why us? The questions remain unanswered.”
Mr Savickas became Lilia’s stepfather when she was three, he said in his statement.
The defendant sat in the dock wearing a navy zip-up hoodie as prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC opened the case against him at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday.
Mr Donnellan told the jury of seven men and five women: "It's a tragic case, we accept. But, as has already been indicated by My Lord, one you have got to set aside your emotions.
"This deliberate murder was clearly a wicked act. He knew his conduct was wrong. He knew he was killing a child."
The prosecutor said Lilia was playing outside a shop where her mother was working in Boston town centre.
Mr Donnellan said: "Just after 6.15 on the late afternoon of July 28 in 2022, Lilia, a little girl aged nine, was playing in the street.
"The street, not accessible to through-traffic, was empty. Barely anyone was about, it was quiet. Lilia was playing with a hula hoop around her.
"The defendant, Deividas Skebas, was waiting. He waited while other pedestrians moved out of the way. When they left the immediate area and had gone… he approached from the Wormgate end of Fountain Lane."
Mr Donnellan said Skebas's pace "quickened" before he took a knife out from his back pocket.
The prosecutor continued: "He put the knife straight into the middle of Lilia and the force of it appears to have knocked her back towards some shutters on the adjoining shop.
"That stab wound went straight through her heart and she fell there in the street. He ran off."
An off-duty police officer nearby initially chased the defendant, the court heard, but after hearing "noises of distress" he began to try to save Lilia's life.
Mr Donnellan said Lilia was pronounced dead at about 7.11pm, within an hour of the attack.
The court heard that Skebas was arrested on July 30 but his mental health was "declining" so he was transferred to hospital.
Jurors were told it was determined that Skebas, formerly of Thorold Street in Boston, Lincolnshire, was not fit to be tried at the time.
Mr Donnellan told the jury: "He is saying he's not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
"Experts agree that Mr Skebas is diagnosed with schizophrenia."
The court heard that he has been treated for his mental health both in the UK and in Lithuania.
The trial continues.