A guy was walking his dog in Wolverhampton early one morning when he saw what he believed was an abandoned blow-up doll stretched on a seat. His stomach plummeted as he neared. The inert item left in the West Midlands park was the horribly brutalized corpse of Viktorija “Tori” Sokolova, who had gone missing the day before.
Viktorija, a 14-year-old Lithuanian, died in a manner that stunned British detectives. The child had been raped and badly abused before being bludgeoned to death with a blunt weapon. Her half-naked body was on display on the bench.
After Viktorija’s brutal murder, investigators tracked down her assailant: the 17-year-old son of Iraqi migrants who escaped to the Netherlands. Ayman Aziz disputed all allegations despite circumstantial and physical proof against him. But, the Wolverhampton Crown Court finally convicted the adolescent and sentenced him to spend the rest of his life in jail, with a minimum of 19 years behind bars.
Even after being sentenced, Aziz did not express regret for his heinous actions. Rather, only weeks after starting his sentence, the adolescent launched the long and expensive appeals process in the hopes of dramatically reducing his sentence. The most vexing element of Aziz’s actions, though, occurred when his counsel revealed a list of grievances the adolescent had about his new accommodations.
Aziz believes he is being “bullied and intimidated” in the detention facility, potentially in an attempt to get an appeal. He said that the bullying has forced him to skip educational courses, which he is entitled to attend at government expense.
His defense team also used Aziz’s deprived upbringing and mental illness as evidence that he cannot be held totally accountable for the horrible acts. His pornographic addiction was also mentioned as a cause of the violent rape and murder.
Viktorija had been plunging into a world of drugs, drinking, and missing school just before her death. She was easily enticed to her death by a series of Facebook chats in which Aziz invited her to meet him in a park to “hang out” and use marijuana. Friends urged her not to hang out with him, but she disregarded their wise counsel.
Aziz is said to have hit Viktorija in the skull at least 20 times with a hammer; however, the weapon has never been located. Some of her teeth were discovered on the ground nearby. Viktorija had surely died in agony, since authorities determined that she died from serious head wounds after nearly an hour.
Despite the fact that his parents were from Iraq, Aziz was apparently born and raised in Holland. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia later in life and had been home-schooled since the age of 15. He was also under the care of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and was supposed to be taking medication for his mental condition but refused.
The loss of her “one and only” child has saddened Karolina Valantiniene, Viktorija’s mother. The girl’s stepfather voiced nothing but wrath against her assailant, dismissing the concept that he should be given any special treatment in jail.
When a family mourns the death of their only child, the murderer complains about his living arrangements, which his victim’s parents pay for with their tax money. Yet, he is allowed to continue to be alive after inflicting a brutal and excruciating death on their small daughter.
While Aziz’s first appeal was denied, it is probable that he will spend the majority of his time in jail submitting further appeals in an attempt to seek an early release. The unfortunate fact is that Viktorija’s family will most likely see their daughter’s killer on the streets in less than two decades.
