Anger, pain and fear. The murder of 12-year-old Lola has moved the whole of France since the discovery of her body in a trunk, abandoned in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. Messages of support to the family, laying of flowers in front of the residence of the victim or emails sent to the municipalities of his relatives: everyone goes there with their condolences.
This Monday, October 24, 2022, ten days after the tragedy, the child was buried in the Lillers cemetery, in Pas-de-Calais, a town where his mother has family ties.
The ceremony began at 2:30 p.m. at the Saint-Omer collegiate church in the town, and was open to “all those who wish to pay him a final tribute”, the parents had announced. Lola’s relatives entered the church to the sound of the Ave Maria, preceded by the child’s white coffin.
Invited by the family, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, the Secretary of State for Children Charlotte Caubel and the RN deputy for the constituency Caroline Parmentier attended mass in the church.
The funeral mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Arras, Mgr Olivier Leborgne. “Words may seem useless and yet a few must be said. Your presence is so important for Lola’s loved ones, for her parents, for her brothers, for all of you. You are here because Lola left too soon and in unbearable circumstances,” he told the audience.
While hundreds of people were expected, and the capacity of the church being limited to 500 places, a sound system was installed outside to allow everyone to be welcomed. The burial, on the other hand, was done in the strictest privacy. The ceremony ended at 3:20 p.m.
Lola’s relatives spoke in turn to come back to this tragic disappearance. One of his brothers, Thibaut, apostrophes his little sister who left “much too soon”.
Another relative of the family, for her part, spoke of the goodness and strong character of the child. “You will leave a great void behind us, you the youngest of the family that everyone loved to tease. Your departure today devastates us and annihilates us”, she delivered during the ceremony.
Lola’s ordeal began at 3:17 p.m. on Friday, October 14, 2022. According to footage from the surveillance camera at her residence, that was the time the victim was last seen alive.
At that moment, a woman, identified as possibly Dahbia B., stopped her before taking her to her sister, who lives in the same building. The alleged murderer allegedly sexually abused the child, before suffocating and then violently assaulting her.
Indicted for “murder of a 15-year-old minor” and “rape with torture and acts of barbarity”, the 24-year-old woman partially admitted the facts before retracting. As a reminder, Dahbia B. still benefits, at this stage, from the presumption of innocence.