A TEENAGE boy has been found not guilty of killing Aria Thorpe after she died from a knife injury at her home.
Nine-year-old Aria died at her house in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year.
The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was cleared of both murder and manslaughter by a jury at Bristol Crown Court today.
After Aria was hurt, the boy left her home and went to a nearby railway station where he told a group of children that her death was an “accident”.
He later told the jury at Bristol Crown Court that he had picked up a knife from the kitchen of Aria’s home and went into the lounge, where she was sitting on the sofa, to “scare” her.
The boy demonstrated moving the knife in a ninja-style way before jabbing it towards Aria as if he was fencing. He said the knife accidentally went into the girl.
Jurors returned the verdicts of not guilty to both charges. Several members of the public gallery – including Aria’s mum – left the court room quietly.
The boy had 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 defendant said Aria had been in front of him at the time.
“She had almost taken a step forward but without taking a step forward because before she could, it happened,” he said. “I don’t know what she was doing.
“The knife went into her. Then I pulled it out. I didn’t know what to do. She put her hand to her chest.”
The boy said Aria then fell to the floor on her front.
“I thought she had died,” he told the court. “I got scared, I panicked. So I ran to the kitchen with the knife and I put it back into the sink.”
He did not check on Aria after she was injured, did not raise the alarm with neighbours or ring for an ambulance.
The boy walked to Worle train station, where he told a group of children that he had killed Aria accidentally.
His mobile phone had previously been confiscated by his mother and he borrowed the phone of a boy at the station.
He then searched for “what happens if you kill…”
A girl at the train station rang police on 999 to report what the boy had said and police quickly attended.
The boy ran onto a train, which police stopped from departing the station. He was then arrested.
Aria attended school on the day she died and was collected from an after-school dance class by her mum, Victoria Hull, at about 4.30pm.
They went shopping for mini-pizzas and toppings, which they made together.
She ate pizza and seemed “bubbly and happy” – asking her mum if she could have the last Oreo.
Victoria said: “She said something like ‘see you after work mummy’. I replied ‘see you after work, love you’.”
Her mum left for an evening work shift shortly after, with Aria watching YouTube videos on the television.
Family friend Ollie Sheppard, who was staying temporarily at the house, returned there after work at about 6pm.
He found Aria on the floor of the living room and rang 999, with police and paramedics arriving a short time later.
Tragically, Aria could not be saved and was pronounced dead at 6.58pm.
She had celebrated her ninth birthday with a KPop Demon Hunters party just two weeks before.
DI Neil Meade said after the verdict: “Aria Thorpe was a fun-loving girl, adored by her parents and wider family. She clearly brought a huge amount of joy to many people’s lives.
“Aria’s grieving family have shown exceptional courage over the past six months, particularly during this trial, and our thoughts are with them.
“During the trial the jury listened to a lot of evidence around a teenager’s involvement in Aria’s death.
“The court was told the boy fatally wounded Aria with a kitchen knife while they were play-fighting. The boy said it was an accident and he never sought to harm Aria.”
Mrs Justice O’Farrell had told jurors as they retired: “This case involves the death of a young girl, Aria.
“It is a tragic and shocking case and, as I have said before, it gives rise to very strong feelings.
“It is important to put your empathy to one side and judge the evidence fairly, without being swayed by an emotional reaction.”
Aria’s family on her mother’s side previously paid tribute, saying: “For those who didn’t have the privilege of knowing Aria, she was the most beautiful little soul — happy-go-lucky, full of light, and joy.
“She loved to sing and dance, and she took such pride in dressing up, always wanting to look just like her mummy.
“The loss of Aria has devastated us beyond words. Our hearts are broken in a way we never imagined possible.”
Her dad Tom Thorpe said previously: “It’s hard to put into words how devastating it is, our little Aria, that you’re up there with the angels looking over us.
“You were such a brave, kind-hearted and a beautiful innocent soul. You always put a smile on people’s faces with your wacky ways and just outright madness.
