'Murdered' French girl begged migrant: 'please don't hurt me' before she was brutally killed

Her trial is set to conclude on Friday - but on Thursday, the Assize Court in Paris heard further details of the case.

Ms Benkired, a prostitute at the time, is accused of forcing the schoolgirl to perform a sex act on her "for her pleasure" and then partially severing her head and stuffing her body into a suitcase.

Ms Benkired spoke in court on Wednesday and revealed that Lola had begged her not to hurt her.

The defendant said she had had an argument with her ex-partner Mustapha M, adding: "I said to myself in my head I'm going to hurt someone."

She told the court: "I passed a woman with her baby. And then Lola. I asked her to open the door for me because I didn't have a badge."

It is alleged that Lola then helped Ms Benkired carry her bags up to her apartment, at which point the woman already knew she was going to hurt the girl.

When Ms Benkired tugged on Lola's arm, the girl pleaded: "Madam, please don't hurt me" to which she responded: "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

The Algerian told the court she then asked Lola to undress and get in the shower and admitted that the girl appeared "scared".

She then explained how she sexually assaulted the girl before "slamming her head against the shower wall with my hand", although she insisted it was "really not hard".

She added: "In the shower, for me, she turned into a ghost. She said nothing, she didn't talk.

"I was told that when I taped her up, she was still alive. For me, she was dead."

Earlier in the trial, members of Lola's family had to leave the court when images of her injuries were shown and details about the "visible traumatic injuries" on her genitals were revealed.

According to medical examinations, the 12-year-old was "vaginally and anally penetrated".

However, Ms Benkired denied penetration, insisting that she was "telling the truth".

She added: "It's not that I wanted to kill her, but that I wanted to hurt someone. But since I had raped her, I might as well kill her."

The court heard on Monday that Lola suffered 38 stab and scissor wounds on her back and neck but ultimately died from asphyxia.

Following the schoolgirl's death, Benkired allegedly tied the girl up using duct tape before stuffing her into a suitcase.

Ms Benkired could receive life behind bars if found guilty on Friday.

And after her visa history was revealed in 2022, President Emmanuel Macron was blamed by the French right for Lola's death.

Hard-right Eric Zemmour then coined the term "Francocide" to describe the murder of a French person.