A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal hammer-attack murder and rape of 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova.

Lithuanian-born Viktorija was brutally beaten, raped and dumped on a park bench in Wolverhampton during a frenzied attack last April.

The killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons but was born in Holland to parents from Iraq, denied any wrongdoing during the three week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Despite his pleas, he was unanimously convicted by a jury and finally sentenced today.

A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal hammer-attack murder and rape of 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova (pictured)

Lithuanian-born Viktorija was brutally beaten, raped, and dumped on a park bench in Wolverhampton during a frenzied attack last April

Today he was sentenced to life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 19 years behind bars.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, sentencing, said: 'The offences committed were extraordinarily serious.

'The deliberate targeting of a vulnerable young girl, she was lured, at night - the defendant armed with a weapon - where she was subject to a truly shocking attack.'

Karolina Valantiniene, Viktorija's mother, had a touching tribute to her daughter read out in court. It said: 'April 12 was the most horrible day of my life.

'That day, I left for work as normal and was asked to go to the office.

'My world fell apart.

'I wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening.

'It felt like there was no tears left and my heart was torn to pieces.

The Lithuanian-born youngster, who was known as Tori, was reported missing by her family before she was found by a dog walker who initially thought her body was a blow-up doll

Viktorija's last moments as she walked towards the park were captured on CCTV (pictured)

'She was dreaming about going to university, passing her driving test and her first new car.

'There will never be her turning 18 and what about her future family and children?

'I was scared and felt left alone.

‘Why are there such terrible people in this world?’ Viktorija’s heart-broken mother’s moving statement Pictured: Karolina Valatiniene leaves court A moving statement from Viktorija's mother Karolina Valantiniene has been read to the court. It said: 'April 12 was the most horrible day of my life. 'That day, I left for work as normal and was asked to go to the office. 'My world fell apart. 'I wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening. 'It felt like there was no tears left and my heart was torn to pieces. 'She was dreaming about going to university, passing her driving test and her first new car. 'There will never be her turning 18 and what about her future family and children? 'I was scared and felt left alone. 'There will never be a Mother's Day for me again and I have no idea how I will carry on my life now. 'The time has stopped for me now. 'Viktorija was the purpose of my life. 'I wanted to die together with her. 'I never thought something terrible like this could happen to me. 'My husband has been a great support for me. 'I was not able to return to work for long time. ' I started taking medication and have been taking it since. 'Why are there such terrible people in this world?' Advertisement

She added: 'Viktorija was the purpose of my life. I wanted to die together with her. I never thought something terrible like this could happen to me.'

The court heard how Viktorija was lured to the West Park in Wolverhampton on the night of the attack after the killer contacted her on Facebook Messenger.

Police said the boy used a hammer, which has never been found, to launch a 'ferocious and sustained' attack on the victim, who suffered a fractured skull and spine.

He had raped her then bludgeoned her 21 times with the hammer, shattering her skull, teeth and breaking her spine in two.

After the killing, the boy was captured on CCTV trying to cover up his horrific offence by dumping his clothes, deleting the Facebook messages he sent Viktorija and throwing her phone towards a lake.

The boy refused to give evidence, claiming to be suffering from learning difficulties, and denied meeting her. He had been home schooled in Wolverhampton for the past year because of difficulties in class.

A serious case review has been launched to discover if Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands Police or the NHS missed any opportunities to protect Viktorija.

The killer was obsessed with extreme porn and violent sex, even Googling it before the murder.

Viktorija Sokolova's brutalised and half-naked body was found on a bench in Wolverhampton on April 12 this year by a dog walker who initially believed she was an abandoned blow-up doll.

After his arrest, he told officers that he had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and had come under the care of Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

On the launch of the serious case review, Linda Sanders, Independent Chair of Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board, said: 'This was an horrific crime and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Viktorija Sokolova.

'Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board is currently undertaking a multi-agency Serious Case Review which is looking at what involvement, if any, local agencies had with Viktorija and her family, and is seeking to establish whether any lessons can be learned which may improve the way they address potential risks to other children in the future.

'It is planned that the Serious Case Review will be published next year.'

Viktorija was also known to social services having told police before her death that her home life was 'not that good'. ]

Following the trial, her mother Karolina Valantiniene and stepfather Saidas Valantinas said in a statement she was 'full of fun and energy'.

The couple added: 'We were a family, now there are only two of us.

'Viktorija will never be replaced and will always be missed dearly. She will remain in our hearts forever.

'We will never be given the opportunity to have grandchildren because this has been taken from us.'

Viktorija Sokolova's body was found half naked slumped over a bench in West Park in Wolverhampton (pictured in April)

Police seized mobile phones from the killer's home used to watch extreme pornography, including before he killed Viktorija, and in a legal first 'lifted' a fingerprint from the screen to link him to the murder he blamed on her mother and step-father.

The boy cannot be named because of his age - but journalists have appealed to the judge to scrap the order protecting his identity.

The boy lured Viktorija to the park under the pretext they would 'chill out together' before launching a murderous assault lasting two hours.

He stripped, raped and beat Viktorija before smashing her head 21 times with a hammer-like weapon until he knocked out three of her teeth and chipped a further six.

He beat her with such force over the back of the skull it 'snapped her spine in two' and left her broken body in Wolverhampton's West Park.

The dog walker who found Viktorija's battered and bruised body initially believed she was an abandoned blow-up doll.

Karolina Valantiniene, the mother to 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova, arrives at Wolverhampton Crown Court during the trial in December

High Court judge Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said of the defendant: 'He is still young, 16 years of age.

'I am obviously concerned as to the extreme nature of the offences in this case and therefore it seems to me that the court ought to be properly informed about all of the background.'

Detectives notched up what is thought to be a legal first while bringing Viktorija Sokolova's killer to justice - by 'lifting' a fingerprint from a mobile phone video.

Officers investigating the killing spotted a recognisable print in a film showing Viktorija's murderer scrolling through his iPhone for passwords as he prepared to delete evidence linking him to the schoolgirl.

The footage did not show the boy's face, meaning a fingerprint was the only means of proving he was using the phone.

The troubled life of murdered teenager who told police: 'I don't want to be at home' Viktorija Sokolova was known to social services because she kept running away from home and said she 'didn't want to be there' having disappeared for a week. Three days before 'Tori' died she had told a police officer that her home life was 'not that good'. PC Neil McDonald interviewed the teenager when she was arrested for stealing her step father's bank card and using it to withdraw £250. The Lithuanian-born teenager said she needed to buy casual clothes like jeans because her mother had burned them And Viktorija, who had £76 of the stolen money left when detained, also told the officer that her mother had 'beaten her up' after the theft. Describing what happened her mother told the court: 'I was holding her with both my arms - I put her on the ground and pressed her down with my knee I told her to calm down. 'She told me she was calm so I let her up and then she started shouting again and scratching. 'My intention was to bring her home'. To stop her going missing her mother and step father had imposed a curfew and installed an alarm at their house. They also destroyed her sim card when they found out she was sexually active. Viktorija had said she preferred staying with friends and at one point was sent to live with her biological father in Northern Ireland but it 'didn't work out'. She also briefly stayed at a children's home before returning to her mother's home. Her stepfather was forced to deny he was involved in her death when traces of his semen were found in her underwear. He told the trial: 'She was my daughter, I would never hurt her'. Asked if he sexually assaulted Viktorija he said: 'This is nonsense - I completely deny this' and when asked if he killed Viktorija. 'I told you already you are talking nonsense'. He added: 'The social workers told us there are no bad children only bad parents. 'We were disappointed because we wanted to make sure she was safe'. A 13-year-old friend of Viktorija told officers how the teenager had planned to move to London the day after she was killed. Advertisement

Jason Corden-Bowen, from the CPS, said: 'Viktorija Sokolova was a young girl with her whole future ahead of her but her life was cut short by this defendant who murdered her in an apparently motiveless and brutal attack.

'The defendant denied the offences but the CPS presented evidence to the jury, including forensic evidence, which proved he was responsible.

'I would like to express my sympathy to Viktorija's family and loved ones'.

Viktorija, who was subjected to 'horrific levels of violence', had abrasions on her chest and abdomen suggesting she had been dragged across the park and propped up against the bench where she was found.

When he was arrested two days after the murder he handed police a prepared statement reading: 'Know nothing about the murder. Only heard about it on news.'

In an extraordinary trial her defence team later tried to blame her death on her mother Karolina Valantinas and step-father Saidas, after traces of his semen were found on her knickers.

But police never arrested Mr Valantinas because the DNA levels were 'microscopic' and could have been transferred innocently.

And the prosecution told the court: 'Even if you suspect this came from non-innocent contamination, in light of all the evidence in this case, would this provide any evidence for the defence theory that her step-father found her in the park, sexually assaulted her and killed her?'

The boy told officers he had been introduced to Vicktorija last year by two other girls.

He had denied rape, murder and sexual penetration of a corpse.

The jury heard Viktorija moved to the UK from Lithuania in 2011 and was living with her family in Wolverhampton.

The prosecutor said she had a 'turbulent relationship' with her parents and social services were aware she often disappeared from home.

The youngster, known to friends as Tori, was reported missing by her family before she was found in the park the following morning.

The defendant had sent Viktorija a video of himself, bare-chested, lifting weights.

He pursued her for eight days before her death, repeatedly asking her to meet him in the park near their homes.

Viktorija made her way to the park at 10.40pm to meet the 16-year-old following a chat on Facebook messenger.

A post-mortem examination concluded she died from a blunt force trauma to the head, which killed her over the space of one hour.

Viktorija's white jeans and bloodstained underwear, as well as a sock, were found dumped in a litter bin near the boating lake.

Her mobile phone had been hurled onto an island on the lake, adjacent to a pavilion in which she was raped and beaten.

After dragging her to a bench, her killer removed Viktorija's pink ankle boots 'which would have made it easier to pull off her jeans and knickers completely,' the prosecutor said.

Viktorija's mother Karolina Valantiniene and stepfather Saidas Valantinas have since spoken out against her killer's defence barristers, who accused them of being responsible for her murder.

Police added that they never considered Saidas Valantinas a murder suspect, despite his semen being found on her underwear - because the sample was 'microscopic' and could have been transferred innocently from clothing to clothing in a washing machine.

Factory worker Karolina and her husband Saidas both called the suggestion that they had been involved 'nonsense'.

Police said the killer made a very concerted effort to meet her specifically in West Park at night - but insisted he wanted to 'chill' with her

Hours later dog walker alerted police when he realised he had found Viktorija's dead body propped up on the bench

Mr Valantinas told the court: 'In this trial, a lot of dirt has been spilled out.

'[The defence lawyer] said in a direct way that I had raped her and I killed her. The defence were being quite rude.'

Viktorija's natural father lives in Ireland and is not implicated in the court case.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Miss Sokolova, originally from Lithuania, died from a blunt force trauma to the head.

Detective Inspector Caroline Corfield, of West Midlands Police's Homicide Team, said: 'The sustained nature of the violent attack on a 14-year-old girl is inexplicable.

'Viktorija was only 14-year-old when she was murdered by her killer who she thought was her friend.

Timeline: How teenager was lured to park and bludgeoned to death April 3: Killer asks Viktorija to meet him so they can 'smoke weed' in West Park. He said he was leaving for London in a week's time and wanted to chill with her before he went. Before this, they had not spoken in months. Viktorija said she was not allowed out at night time. April 5: He again asks her to meet him. He writes: 'Vicky, I know we haven't talked in a while but I'm never gonna see you, I just wanna chill with you for memories'. April 9: Viktorija was arrested by the police on suspicion of stealing her step-father's bank card and using it to withdraw £250. She told police she had used some of the money to buy clothes, and alleged that her mother had assaulted her in the park after she had found out. After spending a few hours in custody, Viktorija was released later that day. April 11, 10.52am: Viktorija contacted the boy on Facebook and agreed to meet him that day. 11.30am: She met with two friends, both aged 13, and they spent the afternoon using their phones to exchange messages with friends. It was the first time they had seen Viktorija with a phone. The friends said she did not have a sim card but could use Facebook Messenger when she had wi-fi. 10pm: One of the friends made her way home and the other told Viktorija that it was time for her to go home. Viktorija asked to stay a little longer because she was planning to meet the 'guy' known as Lazy Cho at midnight. 10.40pm: Just before Viktorija left, her friend told her that it was a bad idea to go the park to which she replied, 'Well, he's only my mate'. The girls hugged and Viktorija left. 10.35pm: Viktorija and the boy arranged to meet in the 'black house' pavilion at the park. At 10:35pm, he told her he had left his house. 10.42pm: CCTV records Viktorija arriving at the park. 10.37pm: CCTV picks up the defendant arriving at the scene 00.44am: CCTV spots the boy still in a hooded jacket, Adidas trainers and carrying a backpack but wearing different coloured trousers. Defendant's iPhone was switched off at 11.32pm and remained disconnected until 1.27am the following morning. 1:35am: Two figures recorded walking a short distance from the defendant's home, carrying a backpack. They retrace their steps about an hour later. The backpack is missing. April 12, 7am: Daniel Squire left his house to walk his dog in West Park, Wolverhampton. He dismissed Viktorija's body 'as some sort of prank and continued with his walk.' On returning to the same area, he realised it was the body of a young girl and phoned 999. Advertisement

A post-mortem examination concluded that Miss Sokolova, originally from Lithuania, died from a blunt force trauma to the head.

Detective Inspector Caroline Corfield, of West Midlands Police's Homicide Team, said: 'The sustained nature of the violent attack on a 14-year-old girl is inexplicable.

'Viktorija was only 14-year-old when she was murdered by her killer who she thought was her friend.

'They knew each other but they hadn't had contact for a few months.

'Then eight days before Viktorija's murder, he contacted her using Facebook Messenger.

'She commented herself on the unusual nature of this sudden contact, not having spoken to him in a long time.

'He was suggesting they leave for London together.

'Over the course of those eight days, he made a very concerted effort to meet her specifically in West Park at night in the 'Black House'.'

The detective added: 'The dog walker] was faced with the horrific scene of Viktorija's half-naked body bent forwards on a park bench.

'He initially thought it was a prank. He told the court that he thought it was a blow-up doll.

'Having been to the scene myself, I can understand why that would be your first reaction because it's a scene that's almost impossible to comprehend.

'The position of the body suggested there was almost certainly a sexual motive to this attack.

'We found that she had had this contact with her killer immediately before her murder, and the detail of that contact - arranging very specifically to meet her in the Black House in West Park.

'Some 150 metres from where Viktorija's body was found is this black wooden shelter and it is clear that that was the main scene of Viktorija's attack.

'It was heavily bloodstained. Viktorija's earrings were found there and the white baseball cap she had been wearing, which was bloodstained.

'The attack was so violent we found three of her teeth.

'To this day, I cannot see any explanation for that level of violence.

'It's unnecessary, it's incomprehensible. She was a 14-year-old girl.

'The reason he was also charged with rape is that we recovered DNA from in and on Viktorija's body that proved that her killer had had sex with her.

'If that had been consensual, there is no explanation for Viktorija's murder.

'If that had been consensual, then why did Viktorija not leave that park alive?

'Her killer then proceeded to erase all trace of his contact with her that night - and this is before her body is even found.

'Her mobile phone was recovered on a small island in the duck pond near to the pavilion.

'So he had thrown it, I believe, intending for it to go into the water but it actually landed on dry land.

'Why would her killer want to dispose of her mobile phone unless that was evidence linking the killer to her?

'The clothing that he was wearing on CCTV heading to the park was very significant because we were able to identify the trainers he was wearing as Adidas Gazelles.

'He wore them to and from the park.

'There were footprints in Viktorija's blood in the pavilion, and the tread pattern of those footwear impressions matches the sole pattern that you get with Adidas Gazelles.

'We've never found those trainers and there's a very good explanation for that.

'We pick the defendant up on CCTV at 1.30am - so after he had returned home from the park - and he leaves his home address again.

'He is wearing different clothing and footwear and he is carrying a rucksack.

'He returns home an hour later - the rucksack has gone.'

The 14-year-old posted this picture of herself with her mother on Facebook shortly before her death

The detective said the killer disposed of his clothes which would have been bloodstained, and they have never been found since.

'He didn't give evidence in court so we were never able to ask him 'what happened to your Adidas trainers? What happened to the clothing you were wearing that night? Why did you delete your Facebook Messenger contact? Why did you hide your iPhone behind a wardrobe in the bedroom?'.

'We know what the answers to those questions are, and he didn't want to face the questions.

'It's a possibility the weapon he used was in the bag as well. It was suggested by the pathologist that it would be something similar to a hammer, or a hammer-type weapon.

'Very soon after making the initial contact with Viktorija, eight days before her murder, her killer searched the internet for sites involving anal sex.

'Specifically, forums talking about what anal sex feels like.

'Yet at no point in any of the messages between him and Viktorija did he suggest that his intention was to have sex with her.

'The question wasn't asked, it wasn't suggested. In fact, he was very specific that he wanted to meet her to hang out with her and smoke cannabis.

'Yet the CCTV suggested he was in the park with her for two hours. There wasn't a trace of cannabis in Viktorija's body.'

The detective said the boy did not have a history of violence, and spoke about the impact on Viktorija's family.

He said: 'It's impossible to imagine what it is like to learn of a murder of your child - then to hear the horrific details of that murder, which are inescapable because they have to be presented in court.

'In this particular case, the defence pointed the finger very specifically at Viktorija's parents.

'They were asked in court whether they had murdered Viktorija. '

He added her parents were never charged nor under investigation.