A nine-year-old alleged murder victim who was found knifed in the street died from a stab wound to the chest, an inquest opening has heard.

Lilia Valutyte was confirmed dead at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital following an incident in the market town in Lincolnshire on July 28.

Deividas Skebas was remanded into custody at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday charged with Lilia’s murder.

Lincolnshire Coroner’s Court was told the schoolgirl was formally identified by her stepfather Aurelijus Savickas.

Acting senior coroner Paul Smith was told a forensic post-mortem examination had been carried out by pathologist Stuart Hamilton and  the “provisional cause of death has been given as… stab wound to the chest.”

The coroner adjourned the inquest until the conclusion of criminal proceedings.

Skebas, of Thorold Street, Boston, was arrested on Saturday after a CCTV appeal and is next due to appear at Lincoln Crown Court for a plea hearing on September 19.

The 22-year-old is yet to enter a plea to the murder charge.

Lilia was found with a stab wound in Fountain Lane, Boston, at about 6.20pm.

Detective Chief Inspector Jennifer Lovatt, of Lincolnshire Police, told a short hearing on Thursday that the welfare of the victim’s family “continues to be a priority”.

DCI Lovatt said the “devastating incident” meant the force had to commit “a considerable number of resources to the investigation”.

Skebas, a Lithuanian national, was detained after four CCTV images were released of a man detectives said they wished to trace.

The CCTV showed a man in the Wormgate and Fountain Lane area of Boston at 6.15pm on Thursday, five minutes before Lilia was found dead.

Lilia had reportedly been playing with her younger sister on the street just yards from an office where their mother was working at the time.

The girls had a hula-hoop, and a toy pram was left at the scene, according to local people.