A 16-year-old boy has been acquitted of the murder and manslaughter of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe, who died after being stabbed with a kitchen knife at her home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on 15 December last year.
Court Proceedings and Verdict
The jury at Bristol Crown Court cleared the teenager of both charges following a trial. The prosecution had argued that the boy deliberately stabbed Aria with intent to kill or cause serious harm, or that his action was reckless. However, the boy testified that the stabbing was accidental, saying he picked up a knife from the kitchen and went into the lounge where Aria was sitting on the sofa. He told the jury, “Aria stood up and I was waving around the knife. Then at some point I decided that I was going to try to make her flinch and scare her, to get a reaction. I leaned forward, acted like I was fencing. The knife went into her. Then I pulled it out. I didn’t know what to do. She put her hand to her chest.”
Judge's Summation
In her summing up, Mrs Justice O’Farrell described the case as “tragic and shocking” and noted that it gave rise to very strong feelings. She stated, “He accepts he stabbed with the kitchen knife but he says it was an accident. His intention was to scare her. He held the knife in his hand and lurched or jabbed towards her. He didn’t intend to kill her and did not intend to cause her really serious injury.”
Aftermath and Arrest
After the stabbing, the boy walked to a nearby train station, where he told a group of children he had killed Aria accidentally. He borrowed a phone from one child and searched for “what happens if you kill …”. Another child called 999, and police arrested the boy shortly after he boarded a train.
Victim's Final Hours
Aria had been collected from an after-school dance class by her mother, Tori Hull. They went shopping for mini-pizzas before Hull left for an evening work shift to earn extra money before Christmas. Aria was watching YouTube videos on the television. Hull told the court, “She asked me if she could have the last Oreo after her food and I said yes. She said something like ‘see you after work mummy’. I replied ‘see you after work, love you’.”
Discovery and Injuries
A family friend, Ollie Sheppard, who was staying temporarily at the house, found Aria on the floor of the living room at about 6pm and called 999. The court heard that Aria was 4ft 4in tall, and the knife was 22cm long, penetrating up to 8cm into her chest. The boy, when asked how he felt about what happened, replied, “I felt horrible.”
