Tom Thorpe, the father of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe, is appealing for a retrial after the teenager who stabbed his daughter in the heart walked free from court. Aria was killed in her own home in December in Weston-super-Mare, stabbed by a 15-year-old who admitted waving a knife 'ninja-style' at her, plunging it three inches into her chest and wounding her heart. The teenager then fled the scene and was seen on CCTV recreating the stabbing to a group of teenagers at a train station.
Father's outrage at court outcome
Tom expressed his disbelief at the verdict, saying: 'Walking into a living room with the biggest knife in the house, fencing towards a 4ft nine-year-old, leaving her for dead, locking the dogs away, putting your coat on, casually strolling out of the house. How on earth, with all of that happening, do you get to walk out of court before we had even walked out of court?'
Tom, an off-shore wind turbine inspector, described his daughter as a 'little firecracker'. He was told by prosecutors the case would be a 'slam dunk', but doubts began surfacing when the defence team argued it was an accident.
Miscarriage of justice claims
The family claims the verdict was a miscarriage of justice because the judge wrongly directed the jury to only convict the teenager of manslaughter if they were sure he deliberately stabbed Aria in a way a reasonable person would believe would cause harm. They have now launched a campaign, backed by Suella Braverman, to seek a Court of Appeal review.
The case cannot be retried under double jeopardy laws unless new evidence emerges. Tom and his fiancee admit there is a 'slim chance' of this, but are exploring their options with the Crown Prosecution.
Campaign for justice
Tom told The Telegraph: 'If we can't change the verdict in the case, then whatever has happened in this trial with the judge's directions misleading the jury, this must never, ever happen again, because you can't murder or accidentally kill someone, flee the scene, and get away with it. It's just disgusting.'
Mrs Braverman, who has set up a petition on her website to support calls for a review, said: 'The injustice of Aria's case undermines public confidence in our courts. In no world should the boy who admitted his actions which led to Aria's death be walking free. It is inexcusable. The Attorney General must step in and ensure that something is done to right this horrendous miscarriage of justice. The Thorpe family and Aria deserve nothing less than the whole country's support in their campaign.'
