Deividas Skebas, 26, stabbed Lilia Valutyte in the heart as she played with a hula hoop in Boston, Lincolnshire, on 28 July 2022.

Skebas, a Lithuanian who has schizophrenia and told police he was being controlled by a chip implanted in his brain by the US space agency NASA, denied murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

He was convicted of murder by a jury at Lincoln Crown Court on 5 February.

Lilia's mother, Lina Savickiene, said she found her daughter "covered in blood and with the hoop around her".

She initially thought "something might have happened" with the hula hoop and described shouting for help while attempting to cover her daughter's wounds as she became pale.

An off-duty police officer tried to help save Lilia, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Skebas was judged mentally unfit to stand trial in 2023, but that assessment changed in spring 2025 and a criminal trial began at Lincoln Crown Court in January this year.

Jurors were told there was no dispute he had killed Lilia but they had to decide what his state of mind was at the time of the attack.

Prosecutors said he had known what he was doing in stabbing Lilia - who would have turned 13 this year - and tried to avoid being caught.

Skebas appeared by video-link from high-security facility Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire wearing a navy blue zip-up jumper and stared ahead without reacting as his sentence was read out by Mr Justice Choudhury on Wednesday.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge said Lilia was a "happy, lively girl as carefree as any nine-year-old should be", adding that Skebas committed a "shocking and horrific act of violence" on her.

He added: "She should have been safe. She was playing in a pedestrianised area and just yards away from her mum."

Mr Justice Choudhury said Skebas had been a user of drugs including cannabis and amphetamines, which would "likely worsen" his schizophrenia.

Opening the Crown's case against Skebas last month, Christopher Donnellan KC told jurors: "This deliberate murder was clearly a wicked act. He knew his conduct was wrong. He knew he was killing a child."

Mr Donnellan told the court on Wednesday: "This was a particularly vulnerable victim, a young girl aged nine. The offence took place with a degree of planning or premeditation."

Jurors heard Skebas loitered around the area until it was quiet before he stabbed the girl with a Sabatier paring knife he bought from a Wilko shop two days earlier.

In the days after the attack, Skebas shaved his beard, tucked the knife behind a radiator and tried to leave the UK for Lithuania on a bus.

Lilia's mother said in an impact statement read by her husband, Aurelijus Savickas, on the day Skebas was convicted: "This is not something you recover from.

"Sometimes terrifying thoughts overwhelm the mind and during this trial there have been many, many more.

"Why her? Why us? The questions remain unanswered."

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The court heard Skebas was arrested two days after the attack, but his mental health was "declining" so he was taken to hospital.

He told detectives he had eaten a piece of rice which he believed was a microchip, and that he had "the power to resurrect" Lilia if the police contacted "his controller in NASA".

In CCTV footage shown to jurors, Lilia could be seen playing with a hula hoop while Skebas watched her from the end of the road, occasionally touching his back pocket, where Mr Donnellan said the knife was hidden.

The force of the attack caused Lilia to fall backwards onto the shutters of the shop next to her mother's store.

An off-duty police officer, Detective Constable Andrew Pearson, who was nearby at the time started running after the defendant, but after hearing "noises of distress" he tried to save Lilia's life.

The girl was pronounced dead at just after 7pm, within an hour of the attack.

In mitigation, defence barrister Andrew Campbell-Tiech KC said Skebas remains dangerous "not merely to himself but in the absence of medication... a danger to others".

He added: "This young man has been subject to a serious and dangerous condition for many, many years."

The judge told Skebas that although he has been sentenced to life imprisonment, "alternative arrangements may have to be made" because of his current mental state.

David Campbell, 77, coldly gunned down Brian Low, 65, on a remote track near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, in February 2024 and used his wife's e-bike to flee the scene.

Campbell was handed a life sentence with at least 19 years in jail at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Judge Lord Scott branded it an "appalling and senseless act of extreme wickedness".

He stated: "You did not encounter Brian Low by chance that day, and you did not just happen to have a shotgun with you."

The judge said Campbell murdered an "unarmed and defenceless man".

He added: "There was no provocation for what you did. You murdered a man who offered no threat to you."

The killer earlier disabled his home CCTV system and placed duct tape over his doorbell camera in a bid to conceal his whereabouts on the day of the murder.

He also got rid of the shotgun, which has never been found, and changed the tyres on the getaway bike in an attempt to cover his tracks.

Campbell denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was at home at the time of the fatal shooting, but jurors saw through his lies and convicted him of murder.

Both men had previously worked at Edradynate Estate, where Campbell was head gamekeeper and Mr Low was a groundsman.

While giving evidence, Campbell denied shooting Mr Low out of "sheer malice" as he rebuked Mr Farrell for calling him a "liar".

When asked about his relationship with Mr Low, the killer said: "We just didn't get on. He didn't like me and I didn't like him."

Mr Low was shot dead on Leafy Lane, near to the Pitilie Track, on 16 February 2024. His body was discovered the following day.

The beginning of the inquiry was mired in controversy after Police Scotland initially treated the death as a "medical event", with Mr Low's bloody injuries suspected to have been caused by a fall.

The court heard that Mr Low's face had around 30 shotgun pellet injuries and when his remains reached a mortuary, shotgun pellets fell out of the bag.

A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.

The force's blunder meant the crime scene was not sealed off and forensically examined until days after Mr Low's body was found.

Three months later, Campbell was arrested and charged.

Lord Scott said: "It may be that, given serious errors in the early stages of police inquiries, you thought initially that you had got away with murder. If so, you were wrong."

During his interview with police, Campbell told detectives they were "desperate" with their accusations and said they were "just trying to save face" due to their mistake at the start of the probe.

While on the stand, he stated: "They made a monumental shambles of the whole investigation."

Detective Chief Superintendent Lorna Ferguson, the senior investigating officer for the case, accepted the initial response to the incident "fell short of what Police Scotland and the public rightly expects".

She said the force has "reflected and we have learned from what happened".

Crown witnesses testified how the killer had suspected his victim of trying to "set him up" in regards to wildlife offences after dead birds were found on the estate.

A local farmer, who was friends with both men, told jurors that Campbell once reportedly said of Mr Low: "I f****** loathe that man. I hate him."

Campbell denied saying that but admitted spreading "absolute lies" about Mr Low.

He claimed he was "ordered" by Michael Campbell, his former boss at Edradynate Estate who has since died, to lie about Mr Low planting rat poison at his home.

Campbell claimed this was part of his boss's efforts to get rid of Mr Low.

Jurors were also shown a formal written warning sent to Mr Low in May 2011 for indulging in "cruel gossip" about Campbell and his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Campbell.

Mr Low, who apologised for saying some "extremely unpleasant things" about the couple to people not employed on the estate, was threatened with dismissal if something similar happened again.

However, in a statement given to police in April 2024, estate owner Mr Campbell said Mr Low "left on very good terms" and was given a car and money as a retirement gift in 2023.

Campbell, meanwhile, admitted being "sacked" in 2017.

Lord Scott said: "The bitterness and grudge you bore towards Brian Low, reflected in some of the things you said about him, did not diminish over time.

"Indeed, it seems to have become more intense, leading you to plan and carry out the sort of killing that was referred to in a relevant decision of the Appeal Court as 'a targeted assassination' or 'a pre-planned execution with a victim who was unarmed and unaware of the fate which was about to befall him'."

Mr Low's iPhone was analysed and "no movement data" was logged on the device between 4.52pm on 16 February and 11.26am on 17 February 2024.

A cyclist captured on CCTV in the Aberfeldy area on the 16th disappeared from view between 4.18pm and 5.01pm.

Prosecutors argued this was Campbell carrying out the murder as the bike had similarities to one belonging to his wife - which included a distinct wingmirror on the right handlebar.

In the days after the shooting, Campbell attended Crightons Cycles in Blairgowrie and had two replacement tyres fitted on to the electric bike in a bid to avoid detection.

However, soil sample analysis later connected it to the area where Mr Low's body was found.

Mrs Campbell, who was in Dunfermline visiting her daughter at the time of the murder, provided an explanation during her own testimony by way of claiming she had been on her bike a few times in late 2023 and early 2024 in the surrounding area.

Lord Scott said by the time of the trial, it must have occurred to Campbell that some of his previous lies were "ludicrous and would never be believed".

The judge added: "So you adapted your evidence in court to try to counter some of the incriminating facts, veering sharply away from some of your earlier lies and even some of your apparent trial strategy."

Seven other charges - including attempting to defeat the ends of justice and multiple breaches of the peace dating back to 1995 - were dropped by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on Friday.

DCS Ferguson said: "I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge that our initial response to this tragic incident fell short of what Police Scotland and the public rightly expects.

"We have reflected and we have learned from what happened.

"This learning included a complete review of all policies and procedures around attendance at unexplained deaths as we take steps to try and prevent something like this happening again."

That's four years of war and continuous suffering for the people of Ukraine.

The ramifications have been felt far and wide and it would appear crass to moan from these shores about higher energy bills since. The link, however, can not be dismissed and neither can the impact in the UK.

The war triggered unprecedented spikes in gas and electricity prices and millions have faced choices over heating and eating to this day, four years on.

We learned on Wednesday that the energy price cap - the variable tariff set by the regulator Ofgem - is to fall by £117, or 7%, over the three months from April to an average annual figure of £1,641.

Money latest: How can I save on my energy bill?

That level is £400 higher than the pre-war average. It tells us a few things when compared with the peak of £4,279 witnessed almost a year after Russia's invasion.

Yes, wholesale gas costs - which drove UK inflation above 11% in late 2022 - are down substantially but they remain volatile at a time when there are a host of other costs complicating the outlook for bills ahead.

Policy costs are a great example of these competing forces.

While the chancellor is taking £150 away from energy bills (including fixed-rate deals) per year by removing green levies and some other costs, they are now being reflected in general taxation.

It's important to note that the price of the race to net zero, including investment in new nuclear, being undertaken by the government remains a major component within household energy costs.

It's also worth bearing in mind that families are footing a big bill for making the UK's grids and networks fit for the renewables-led future.

It's still a long way off. There were days this winter when natural gas was producing more than half the country's power needs.

Infrastructure upgrades will add approximately £108 to typical annual household energy bills by 2031, according to Ofgem.

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So, is the price cap on track to come down further to limit these pressures?

No. Not according to the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, anyway.

"While policy - and network - costs will continue to play a significant role in shaping household bills, wholesale [gas] markets have become increasingly volatile since the beginning of the year," it noted.

"Unlike the April cap, which benefited from comparatively lower wholesale prices near the end of 2025, the July cap is being set against more turbulent market conditions."

Those include markets pricing in the risk that another war will disrupt flows, particularly of crucial liquified natural gas (LNG), if the US attacks Iran.

Given that Europe has lost most of its Russian oil and gas, any threat to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz has the potential for history to repeat itself through a renewed energy-driven cost-of-living crisis.

It's a risk our economy, still damaged by high prices, could well do without.

On a misty February morning midway between Britain and France, we watch tankers carrying Russian oil worth around $100m (£74.1m) cruise past in defiance of Western sanctions, embargoes, and price caps.

Dozens of these vessels pass through the Channel every month, part of a "shadow fleet" of up to 800 vessels that have kept the oil revenues that fund the war on Ukraine flowing.

This week, the UK government announced fresh sanctions against the Russian oil trade but the evidence of a day on the water is that the shadow fleet operates with apparent impunity, right under the nose of Kyiv's allies.

Russian tankers a 'routine sight'

Our skipper, Matt Coker, usually takes sea fishing parties out on the Portia, but we were after a bigger catch; three vessels in the shadow fleet carrying oil from Russia's Baltic ports.

He says they are a routine sight in the world's busiest shipping lane: "When you see these Russian ships and these oil tankers, you know, it's a regular occurrence. To be honest, no one really takes any notice."

We had tracked the tankers - the Rigel, the Hyperion and the Kousai - from the Gulf of Finland, where they had been loaded with oil at Russian Baltic ports, to intercept them as they passed the narrowest point of the Dover Straits.

Up close in a rising swell, the scale of the vessels is unavoidable, and each one tells a story about both the impact and the limits of Western action.

The Rigel, a Suezmax-class tanker, is more than 270 metres long and fills the near horizon as it emerges from the mist. With a capacity of one million barrels, its cargo of oil, loaded a week earlier at Primorsk, is worth around $55m (£40.7m).

It is sailing under a Cameroon flag, owned and managed by a company in the Seychelles, and sanctioned by the EU, UK and Canada, among others.

That prevents it from using port facilities in any of the sanctioning countries, but not from heading to its next known stop, Port Said at the head of the Suez Canal. We cannot know where its oil will be unloaded, but since the invasion of Ukraine, the bulk of Russian oil has been sold to China and India, at a significant discount.

Next to appear is the Hyperion, sanctioned by the UK, EU and US, and sailing under a Russian flag with its name marked on the bow in Cyrillic.

The flag switching tactic

As recently as December, it was sailing under a Sierra Leone flag when, after making a delivery to Venezuela, it switched flags and evaded the US naval blockade in the Caribbean.

Switching flags is a routine tactic in the shadow fleet, opaque ownership is common, and insurance cover is often unclear, a serious concern given many of the vessels are ageing and poorly maintained.

The US has taken direct military action against tankers in the shadow fleet linked to Venezuela, with at least seven seized since last year, the most recently in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.

French paramilitaries also seized a vessel in the Mediterranean last month, but despite the almost daily passage of shadow tankers through the Channel, direct British interventions so far have focused on insurance.

As we watch the passage of our third sanctioned tanker, the Kousai, we overhear a message from the coastguard to its captain on the open VHF radio channel, demanding proof of insurance.

The captain is asked to email documentation to a government email address within 24 hours. We do not hear the Kousai's response, and in a matter of minutes, it too has passed.

A reaction to sanctions

Sanctions against Russia's oil industry have had an impact, reducing the value of Russian oil if not the volumes that it moves.

The growth of the shadow fleet itself is a market response to tightening sanctions. With the majority of western-controlled tankers and associated marine services beyond Russia's reach, it turned to an ad-hoc, opaque collection of older vessels to move oil, often covertly.

"Over 60% of Russian crude is being exported on the shadow fleet," says Pamela Munger, head of European market analysis for energy analysts Vortexa.

"You have more vessels that need to be in the chain. Let's say a sanctioned vessel loads Russian crude and let's say it's on its way to China.

"It could make up to five, six, seven ship-to-ship transfers along the way in order to disguise the origin of the crude and move it on to… Non-sanctioned vessels, which it will eventually discharge into its end buyer."

Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air shows that the number of vessels in the shadow fleet grew following sanctions but the volume of oil being moved remained constant, even as hundreds of vessels were sanctioned directly.

Impact on the oil market

Prices have fallen, however, with Russian oil now competing with Iranian and Venezuelan crude in the "distressed" sanctioned oil market, cutting Kremlin revenues as a result.

"Russia has had to discount those crude oil cargoes in a very big way," says David Fyfe, chief economist at commodity price specialists Argus Media.

"In 2021, Urals, the primary export grade of Russian crude, was pricing two to three dollars below North Sea Brent. As we speak in February, Urals is loading in the Baltic ports at $27 below North Sea Brent."

That price gap has cut Russia's oil revenues by around 25% year-on-year and by up to 50% in January alone, an economic impact the Kremlin cannot ignore.

"I think they'll take a fairly sizeable hit, particularly in revenues this year, and I'd expect, at the very least, something like a half-a-million barrel per day hit on volumes," says Mr Fyfe.

Are we heading for a military confrontation?

The squeeze could tighten further, with pressure for a more robust response from European nations, including the UK.

Under maritime law, all vessels have the right of innocent passage as long as they are sailing under a legitimate flag, and many countries have continued to do business with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK government is understood to have examined the legal grounds for detaining Russian tankers, including under the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act.

"I think there must come a point at which Britain and its allies, the Dutch, and the Danes and the Norwegians and the seagoing nations of Northern Europe, they will get much tougher with these Russian ships, even if they're escorted," says Professor Michael Clarke, Sky News security and defence analyst.

"When that happens, I think we're heading probably sometime this year for some sort of militarised confrontation at sea."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said it has requested insurance documents from more than 600 vessels, and that "deterring, disrupting and degrading the Russian shadow fleet is a priority".

The owners of the Rigel, the Hyperion and the Kousai have been contacted for comment.

John Davidson, who suffers from the neurological condition, shouted out as the first award of the night was presented on stage by Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo.

The BAFTAs programme was edited down from the three-hour live show filmed two hours earlier that evening at London's Royal Festival Hall, and went out on BBC1 at 7pm. The slur could be watched on BBC iPlayer for more than 12 hours before the programme was removed to be edited:

Viewers then saw the message: "This episode will be available soon."

A BBC spokesperson said: "The BBC has been reviewing what happened at BAFTA on Sunday evening.

"This was a serious mistake and the director general has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants."

Both Lindo and Jordan appeared to pause after the insult was heard, then continued their presentation.

Additionally, on Wednesday the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS) wrote to outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie "seeking an explanation" for how a racial slur ended up in the broadcast "in spite of a two-hour time delay".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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