A teenage boy accused of murdering a nine-year-old girl has stated in court that he “acted like he was fencing” in an attempt to frighten her when she was fatally stabbed. Aria Thorpe died after sustaining a knife wound to her chest at her residence in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 of the previous year. The 16-year-old defendant, who cannot be named due to his age, is denying charges of murder and manslaughter in connection with Aria’s death.
During testimony at Bristol Crown Court, the boy described waving the knife around. “Aria stood up and I was waving around the knife,” he told the jury. “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 added that Aria was in front of him at the time. He stated: “She had almost taken a step forward but without taking a step forward because before she could, it happened. 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 recounted that Aria then fell to the floor on her front. “I thought she had died,” he said. “I got scared, I panicked. So I ran to the kitchen with the knife and I put it back into the sink.” Following the incident, he walked to a nearby train station, where he informed a group of children that he had accidentally killed Aria. He borrowed one child’s phone and searched for “what happens if you kill…” Another child contacted police via 999, and officers arrived at the station, arresting the boy shortly after he boarded a train. The boy confirmed he did not check on Aria after the injury, call for an ambulance, or raise the alarm.
Andrew Langdon KC, representing the boy, inquired about his feelings regarding the event. “I felt horrible,” the boy replied. The following day, the boy provided a prepared statement to police during an interview, asserting he had “stabbed her in the chest” without being certain why. Mr. Langdon questioned why the statement did not indicate it had been an accident. The boy responded: “All I thought was I was the one who murdered Aria and all I wanted to do was admit guilt to it. I just said that I stabbed her and that was it. I just took the blame because it was my fault.”
On Thursday, Home Office pathologist Dr. Amanda Jeffery informed the court that Aria died from a single stab wound to the chest, which penetrated her heart. Dr. Jeffery noted that Aria would have died “very swiftly” from the injury. Aria had attended school on the day of her death and was picked up from an after-school dance class by her mother, Tori Hull, at approximately 4:30 PM. Family friend Ollie Sheppard discovered Aria on the living room floor and dialed 999, with police and paramedics arriving shortly thereafter. Tragically, Aria could not be saved and was pronounced dead at 6:58 PM. The trial, presided over by Mrs. Justice O’Farrell, continues.
