An Algerian woman apologised for her "horrible" actions Friday as she went on trial accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl in Paris, in a case that sparked horror in France and was seized by the far right.

Dahbia Benkired, now aged 27, was detained after Lola Daviet went missing in the northeast of the French capital three years ago. The girl's body was then found in a trunk in the lobby of the building where her father and mother worked as caretakers.

Conservative and far-right politicians seized on the case to call for better immigration law enforcement, after Benkired was found to have overstayed a student visa and failed to comply with a notice to leave France.

The victim's mother has urged politicians to stop exploiting her daughter's death.

On Friday, the girl's family sat in court, wearing white T-shirts with a picture of a smiling child and the words: "You were the sun of our life, you will be the star of our nights."

"I am waiting for justice to be done," said Lola's mother Delphine........

© International Business Times