Tom Thorpe, the father of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe, described the moment he learned of his daughter's death as having a 'freezing' effect on his body. Aria died from a knife wound to her chest at her home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year. Tom was in Brighton, East Sussex, when he received a phone call from Aria's grandfather, Dennis.
The Chilling Phone Call
Tom, 35, recalled: 'He said ‘I’ve got some really bad news Aria’s been stabbed.’ Of course, I answered ‘what on earth do you mean?’’ Tom, a father of four, worked offshore on a wind turbine and saw Aria and her older sister every second weekend. He had returned to his accommodation when Dennis called, informing him of the stabbing. Tom asked: ‘I don’t understand, how has Aria been stabbed at home?’ The call ended after Dennis told him a 16-year-old boy had been arrested.
Tom said he took five minutes before calling Dennis back to confirm the tragic news. He then packed his belongings to drive home to Portsmouth, where he lives with his partner Sophie. The last time he saw Aria alive was at a garden centre two weeks earlier, which she 'loved' because of its Christmas reindeer walkthrough. He described Aria as an 'outdoor girl' who loved the woods and climbing trees.
Struggling with Grief
Tom said: 'How do you even start to begin to process the loss of your daughter that’s been stabbed at home? It’s a bizarre freezing effect on your body.' On the night he received the news, Tom and Sophie, 34, lay awake until the early hours before deciding to drive to Dennis's home in Weston. Relatives from Aria's mother, Victoria Hull's side of the family had also gathered there. Police arrived at around 9am. Tom was not able to see Aria in the mortuary until two or three days later, as a postmortem was carried out. When he and Victoria finally saw her, they spent over an hour with her, which was 'really tough'.
Teen Acquitted
Last week, a 16-year-old boy was acquitted of Aria's murder and manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court. The teenager, who cannot be identified due to his age, was cleared by a jury on Thursday. Tom said this left him feeling 'like it’s happened all over again', adding 'he’s got away with it'. After the verdicts, some members of the public gallery, including Aria's mother, left quietly. The trial judge, Mrs Justice O’Farrell, had warned them not to show emotion when the verdicts were delivered. Tom said: 'Me and Sophie just stood up and left immediately before anyone else.' They then 'sat in silence' in a quiet room upstairs.
Tom questioned: 'How can you kill someone, flee the scene, run away from the scene of the crime, go to the train station, brag about it to your friends, then try to escape on a train… get arrested. How can you do all of that and walk out of the court scot-free?' He spoke of the pain of watching the teen leave the court and hug his father. He feels the jury's decision has left him in a kind of limbo, making it hard to process his grief.
Appeal Considered
Tom said he has spoken to his barrister, who informed them they could take the case to the High Court, but warned it 'would potentially not overturn the verdict' and could ensure other cases like this no longer go forward. Tom is now applying for court transcripts and other documents to be reviewed by an independent barrister. He has been told an 'overwhelming' amount of new evidence would be needed for an appeal.
After the incident, the boy left Aria's 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 that he picked up a knife from the kitchen and went into the lounge to 'scare' Aria. He demonstrated moving the knife in a ninja-style way before jabbing it towards her as if fencing. He claimed the knife accidentally went into Aria, causing the fatal injury. The jury returned verdicts of not guilty to both charges. Judge O'Farrell thanked the jury for their 'careful attention to all of the evidence' and told the teenager: 'You have been found not guilty and you will now be taken down to be processed.'
