Lillia Valutyte – Man, 22, charged with brutal murder of girl, 9, who was stabbed to death as she played

A MAN has been charged with the brutal murder of a nine-year-old girl who was stabbed to death as she played with her little sister in the street.

Lillia Valutyte was fatally injured just outside the café where her mum was working.

Deividas Skebas, 22, has today been charged with the killing.

Yesterday, armed cops arrested a man a stone’s throw from the spot where Lillia died in Boston, Lincs.

But the man they tried to detain bolted as they arrived — sparking a chase through gardens. The suspect was found using a police drone.

Harry Potter fan Lillia was playing with a hula hoop and a doll's pram with her five-year-old sister outside a café when she was stabbed.

The girls' recruitment boss mum Lina Savicke, 35, was working on a laptop just metres away, and had been regularly checking on her daughters.

Yesterday’s arrest was made within hours of an appeal for assistance as hundreds of cops combed the area around the crime scene.

Police are understood to have been acting on a tip-off when they arrived in Tunnard Street, Boston, at around 2.40pm yesterday.

As they approached, it's alleged a man bolted through a garden, emerging from a property in adjacent Thorold St. He was then arrested.

Cops say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.

Friends and loved ones have since paid tribute to Lillia.

School pal Tia Mills, nine, wrote: “You were the bestest friend.

"Hopefully you are now with the angels in a better place. You are probably watching Harry Potter.”

Two other men arrested in an earlier raid have been released with no further action after being quizzed.